Definitions for modest
ˈmɒd ɪstmod·est

Princeton's WordNet(3.75 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. modestadjective

   marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself

   "a modest apartment"; "too modest to wear his medals"

2. modest, smalladjective

   not large but sufficient in size or amount

   "a modest salary"; "modest inflation"; "helped in my own small way"

3. modestadjective

   free from pomp or affectation

   "comfortable but modest cottages"; "a simple rectangular brick building"; "a simple man with simple tastes"

4. modestadjective

   not offensive to sexual mores in conduct or appearance

5. humble, low, lowly, modest, smalladjective

   low or inferior in station or quality

   "a humble cottage"; "a lowly parish priest"; "a modest man of the people"; "small beginnings"

6. meek, mild, modestadjective

   humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness

   "meek and self-effacing"

7. minor, modest, small, small-scale, pocket-size, pocket-sizedadjective

   limited in size or scope

   "a small business"; "a newspaper with a modest circulation"; "small-scale plans"; "a pocket-size country"

Wiktionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. modestadjective

   Not bragging or boasting about oneself or one's achievements, unpretentious, humble.

2. modestadjective

   Small, moderate in size.

3. modestadjective

   (especially of behaviour or clothing) Avoiding being sexually suggestive.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. MODESTadjective

   Etymology: modeste, Fr. modestus, Latin.

   1. Not arrogant; not presumptuous; not boastful; bashful.

   Of boasting more than of a tomb afraid;
   A soldier should be modest as a maid. Edward Young.

   2. Not impudent; not forward.

   Resolve me with all modest haste, which way
   Thou might’st deserve, or they impose this usage. William Shakespeare.

   Her face, as in a nymph, display’d
   A fair fierce boy, or in a boy betray’d
   The blushing beauties of a modest maid. John Dryden, Ovid.

   3. Not loose; not unchaste.

   Mrs. Ford, the honest woman, the modest wife, the virtuous creature, that hath the jealous fool to her husband. William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor.

   4. Not excessive; not extreme; moderate; within a mean.

   There appears much joy in him, even so much that joy could not shew itself modest enough without a badge of bitterness. William Shakespeare, Much ado about nothing.

   During the last four years, by a modest computation, there have been brought into Brest above six millions sterling in bullion. Joseph Addison, State of the War.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Modestadjective

   restraining within due limits of propriety; not forward, bold, boastful, or presumptious; rather retiring than pushing one's self forward; not obstructive; as, a modest youth; a modest man

2. Modestadjective

   observing the proprieties of the sex; not unwomanly in act or bearing; free from undue familiarity, indecency, or lewdness; decent in speech and demeanor; -- said of a woman

3. Modestadjective

   evincing modestly in the actor, author, or speaker; not showing presumption; not excessive or extreme; moderate; as, a modest request; modest joy

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Modest

   Modest is a free, open source, email client developed by Nokia's maemo project. Small and lightweight, it is intended for use on hardware with “modest” resources, in particular Nokia's N800 and N810 Internet Tablets running Internet Tablet OS 2008, as well as the N900 mobile phone running Maemo. Modest is based on the lightweight Tinymail email framework.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Modest

   mod′est, adj. restrained by a sense of propriety: not forward: decent: chaste: pure and delicate, as thoughts or language: not excessive or extreme: moderate.—adv. Mod′estly.—n. Mod′esty, humility: purity of thought and manners: becoming behaviour: chastity, purity: moderation. [Fr.,—L. modestus—modus; a measure.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'modest' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4003

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'modest' in Adjectives Frequency: #540

How to pronounce modest?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say modest in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of modest in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of modest in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of modest in a Sentence

1. Director Christine Lagarde:

   Global growth will likely be weaker this year than last, with only a modest acceleration expected in 2016.

2. Cervantes:

   Beauty in a modest woman is like fire at a distance, or like a sharp sword: neither doth the one burn nor the other wound him that comes not too near them.

3. Mark Twain:

   I was born modest. Not all over, but in spots.

4. James Agate:

   The English instinctively admire any man who has no talent and is modest about it.

5. Heidi Blanck:

   This new information gives us hope that our efforts across the US are making a difference, we saw the rates in 2014, which were 14.5 %, had come down a little bit from 2010 [ at 16 % ], and now in 2016, they are down to 14 %. So we are continually seeing a modest drop. It gives us hope that prevention efforts are making a difference by seeing the numbers continuing to going in the right direction.

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