humble

A person who is humble has learned to appreciate his or her personal situation. A humble person might be thankful or modest regarding his or her accomplishments. In some cases, the word “humble” is used when a person feels undeserving of recognition, or a person’s good fortune suddenly disappears.

• Joe said he felt humble knowing that his success was attributable to the work of those who came before him.
• Even though Gloria has achieved great success as a leader at the company where she works, she’s humbled by the support she has received from her coworkers.
• Losing his job as a manager was a humbling experience for Anthony who had only known success before being let go.
• The humble origin of the multi-billion dollar business was a single coffee shop in a small midwest city.
• At an awards ceremony, Charles said he was humbled to be honored by his colleagues.
• Charles humbly accepted the award.
• To receive the award was an incredibly humbling experience for him.
• His humbleness almost prevented him from accepting the award.

A relatively new word is " humblebrag." To brag is just about the opposite of being humble, but a person who tries to give the impression of being humble, but is actually bragging, is guilty of a humblebrag. This word is a noun.

• Rudy’s story about helping refugees find jobs at his company was an obvious humblebrag.
• The amateur webcast from Isabel’s kitchen  turned into a humblebrag as viewers slowly realized just how rich she really was.

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Date of publication: February 7, 2017