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Meaning & use

humbling experience

phrase·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈhʌmblɪŋ ɪkˌspɪəriəns/
US/ˈhʌmblɪŋ ɪkˌspɪriəns/

Meanings

  1. phrasecountable

    An event that makes you feel less important or proud, often by showing your limits or others' kindness.

    Grammar: Countable: a humbling experience, two humbling experiences. Often used with 'be' or 'prove'.

    Patterns

    • a humbling experience
    • be a humbling experience for someone
    • prove a humbling experience

    Losing the final was a humbling experience, but the team learned a lot.

    Volunteering at the shelter was a humbling experience for me.

    Meeting people who had survived the flood was a humbling experience.

  2. phrasecountable

    A situation that makes you realize how much you still have to learn.

    Grammar: Often used after 'find something' or 'turn out to be'.

    Patterns

    • find something a humbling experience
    • turn out to be a humbling experience

    Teaching beginners turned out to be a humbling experience.

    She found the first year of her PhD a humbling experience.

Common combinations

a humbling experience for someone
The defeat was a humbling experience for the young captain.
prove a humbling experience
The project proved a humbling experience for the whole team.
find something a humbling experience
I found learning to paint a humbling experience.
describe something as a humbling experience
He described the award as a humbling experience.

Synonyms and how they differ

sobering experience
It makes you serious and thoughtful rather than less proud; often used for bad news or warnings.
eye-opening experience
It shows you something new; it does not necessarily make you feel humble.
learning experience
Neutral: you learn something, but there is no feeling of being made small.

Opposites

ego boost

Word family

humble adjective
Not proud; modest about your own importance.
humbling adjective
Making you feel less proud or more aware of your limits.
humility noun
The quality of not thinking you are better than other people.

Commonly confused: humbling experience or humble experience?

humbling experience vs humble experience

Not a usual phrase. 'Humble' describes a person or home, while 'humbling' describes the experience that makes you humble.

Practice

After the earthquake, seeing how neighbors helped each other was a ______ experience.

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