humblebrag

English

Etymology

humble +‎ brag; coined by writer and comedian Harris Wittels (1984–2015), posted on Twitter in 2010.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌmbl̩ˌbɹæɡ/
• Hyphenation: hum‧ble‧brag

Noun

humblebrag (plural humblebrags)

1. An ostensibly self-deprecating statement made to show off. [from 2010]
   • 2015, Jen Mann, Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat: Yuletide Yahoos, Ho-Ho-Humblebraggers, and Other Seasonal Scourges, Random House, page 130:

     I am as guilty as the next wannabe Overachieving Mom when it comes to the humblebrag Christmas letter. I can’t help it. It’s in my genes.

   • 2018, James D. Wright, Lost Souls: Manners and Morals in Contemporary American Society, Taylor & Francis, page 230:

     Henry Alford, a commentator for The New York Times, has observed that “social media status updates are basically selfies, humblebrags, and rants.” “Most humblebrags,” Alford observes, “are attempts to convey one of three messages: ‘I have too much work;’ ‘I am an idiot/impostor;’ or ‘I have firsthand knowledge of the gritty gilt to be found inside the gilded cage.’” The latter seems by far the most common.

   • 2019, Karen Stohr, Minding the Gap: Moral Ideals and Moral Improvement, Oxford University Press, page 180:

     I phrase my brag in humble or self-deprecating terms because social norms demand that such self-deprecating remarks be countered by denials by my guests and compliments on the perfection of the risotto. My humblebrag is thus met with the positive affirmation I was seeking but could not successfully achieve through outright bragging.

   • 2021, Brianne Hogan, BuzzFeed: Joy in the Stars: Self-Care Astrology for Your Mind, Body, and Soul, Running Press, page 69:

     You're the king/queen of the humblebrag on your best days, but you really need to remember your strengths and talents on your worst days to shake off your impostor syndrome and remember the badass you are.

   • 2023, David R. Denny, Meditations from the Classics: Ancient Voices for Modern Listeners, Collective Ink, page 157:

     Ditch the humblebrag. Live with sincerity beneath the shadow of God.

Verb

humblebrag (third-person singular simple present humblebrags, present participle humblebragging, simple past and past participle humblebragged)

1. To make a humblebrag.
   • 2018, Michele Lent Hirsch, Invisible: How Young Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just Fine, Beacon Press, page 66:

     After all, she writes, she was surrounded by “people who humblebragged about how little sleep they’d gotten the night before and used the phrases ‘lean and scrappy’ to describe not only our company culture, but themselves.”

   • 2019, Adam Chandler, Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom, Flatiron Books, page 25:

     The Four Seasons even humblebragged about its failure to accommodate Buffett’s special request on its Facebook page.

   • 2020, David Sax, The Soul of an Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup Myth, PublicAffairs, page 24:

     Fan quickly humblebragged through her journey from reluctant computer science major to discovering a love of animation, which she studied at night in community college, despite the protestations of her Chinese “tiger parents” that she would “be poor and destitute if I followed my dreams.”

   • 2023, David R. Denny, Meditations from the Classics: Ancient Voices for Modern Listeners, Collective Ink, page 157:

     John the Baptist lived in the shadow of Tiberius. Many people thought John was the Messiah. After all, he commanded great crowds and had a dynamic personality. But John didn’t humblebrag. His dreams were all cradled in the heart of Jesus. No fakery or false pretensions existed on John’s stage.

Derived terms

• humblebragging

 

See also

• false modesty