modest

English

Etymology

From Middle French modeste, from Latin modestus.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑdəst/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒdəst

Adjective

modest (3) Venus statue.

modest (comparative more modest or modester, superlative most modest or modestest)

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

   Synonyms: demure, meek; see also Thesaurus:humble

   Antonyms: arrogant, immodest; see also Thesaurus:arrogant

2. Small, moderate in size.

   Synonyms: moderate, tiny; see also Thesaurus:intermediate, Thesaurus:small

   Antonyms: immodest, obscene; see also Thesaurus:large, Thesaurus:excessive

   He earns a modest amount of money.

   Her latest novel was a modest success.

3. Pure and delicate from a sense of propriety.

   Synonyms: chaste, demure, prudish, virginal

   Antonyms: immodest, obscene; see also Thesaurus:obscene

   modest thoughts or language

4. (especially of behavior or clothing) Intending to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others.

   Synonyms: austere, chaste; see also Thesaurus:unadorned

   Antonyms: provocative, sexy, sensual, flamboyant; see also Thesaurus:sexy, Thesaurus:gaudy

Derived terms

• modest cadlina
• modestly
• modest proposal

Related terms

• modesty

Translations

not bragging or boasting about oneself or one's achievements

• Arabic: مُتْوَاضِع (mutwāḍiʕ)
• Armenian: համեստ (hy) (hamest), պարկեշտ (hy) (parkešt)
• Azerbaijani: təvazökar, təvazölü
• Belarusian: скро́мны (skrómny), сці́плы (scíply)
• Bulgarian: скро́мен (bg) (skrómen)
• Catalan: modest (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 謙虛 / 谦虚 (zh) (qiānxū), 謙讓 / 谦让 (zh) (qiānràng), 謙遜 / 谦逊 (zh) (qiānxùn), 謙恭 / 谦恭 (zh) (qiāngōng), 虛心 / 虚心 (zh) (xūxīn)

• Czech: skromný (cs)
• Danish: beskeden
• Dutch: bescheiden (nl), ingetogen (nl)
• Esperanto: modesta (eo)
• Finnish: vaatimaton (fi)
• French: modeste (fr)
• Galician: modesto
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: bescheiden (de), maßvoll (de)
• Greek: ταπεινός (el) (tapeinós), μετριόφρων (el) (metriófron), σεμνός (el) (semnós)

  Ancient: αἰδήμων (aidḗmōn), αἰδοῖος (aidoîos)

• Haitian Creole: modès
• Hebrew: צָנוּעַ (tsanúa)
• Hungarian: szerény (hu)
• Irish: náireach, náiriúil, adhnáireach, modhúil
• Italian: modesto (it)
• Japanese: 謙虚な (ja) (けんきょな, kenkyo na), 謙遜した (ja) (けんそんした, kenson shita)
• Korean: 겸손하다 (ko) (gyeomsonhada)
• Latin: modestus
• Latvian: pieticīgs
• Lithuanian: kuklus
• Macedonian: скромен (skromen)
• Maori: whakamōwai, pōrearea
• Old English: sċamfæst
• Plautdietsch: bescheiden
• Polish: skromny (pl)
• Portuguese: modesto (pt)
• Romanian: modest (ro)
• Russian: скро́мный (ru) (skrómnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: скро̏ман

  Roman: skrȍman (sh)

• Slovak: skromný
• Slovene: skromen (sl)
• Spanish: modesto (es), humilde (es)
• Swedish: blygsam (sv)
• Thai: ถ่อมตัว (th) (tɔ̀m-dtuua)
• Turkish: kalender (tr), alçak gönüllü (tr), mütevazı (tr)
• Ukrainian: скро́мний (skrómnyj)
• Vietnamese: khiêm tốn (vi)
• Yiddish: באַשיידן (basheydn)

small

• Armenian: համեստ (hy) (hamest)
• Catalan: modest (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小的 (xiǎo de), 數量不大的 / 数量不大的 (shùliàng bùdà de), 少量的 (shǎoliàng de), 略微的 (lüèwēi de), 樸素的 / 朴素的 (pǔsù de)

• Danish: beskeden, moderat (da)
• Dutch: bescheiden (nl)
• Esperanto: modesta (eo)
• Finnish: vaatimaton (fi)
• French: modeste (fr)
• Galician: modesto
• German: bescheiden (de), klein (de), gering (de), moderat (de)
• Greek: ταπεινός (el) (tapeinós)
• Italian: modesto (it), irrisorio (it), esiguo (it)
• Japanese: 適度 (ja) (てきど, tekido)
• Latin: modestus
• Polish: skromny (pl), niewielki (pl)
• Portuguese: modesto (pt)
• Russian: скро́мный (ru) (skrómnyj)
• Spanish: pequeño (es), modesto (es), moderado (es), módico (es)
• Swedish: liten (sv)
• Turkish: naçiz (tr), naçizane (tr), mütevazı (tr)
• Yiddish: באַשיידן (basheydn)

intending to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others

• Arabic: مُحْتَشِم (muḥtašim)
• Armenian: համեստ (hy) (hamest)
• Bulgarian: сдържан (bg) (sdǎržan)
• Catalan: modest (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 端莊的 / 端庄的 (duānzhuāng de), 適度的 / 适度的 (shìdù de)

• Danish: blufærdig, anstændig, sømmelig, ærbar
• Dutch: kuis (nl), fatsoenlijk (nl), eerbaar (nl), ingetogen (nl), zedig (nl)
• Finnish: siveä (fi)
• German: anständig (de), sittsam (de)
• Greek: σεμνός (el) (semnós)
• Irish: modhúil
• Portuguese: recatado (pt), decente (pt)
• Russian: благопристо́йный (ru) (blagopristójnyj), скро́мный (ru) (skrómnyj)
• Spanish: decente (es), pudoroso (es), púdico (es)
• Yiddish: צניעותדיק (tsniesdik)

Anagrams

• domets

Albanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔdɛst/

Adjective

modést (feminine modeste)

1. modest

Derived terms

• modesti

Further reading

• “modest”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006
• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[1], 1980

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin modestus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [muˈðest]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [moˈðest]

Adjective

modest (feminine modesta, masculine plural modests or modestos, feminine plural modestes)

1. modest

   Antonym: immodest

Derived terms

• modestament

Related terms

• immodest
• modèstia

Further reading

• “modest” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “modest”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “modest” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “modest” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin modestus or French modeste or Italian modesto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈdest/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

modest m or n (feminine singular modestă, masculine plural modești, feminine and neuter plural modeste)

1. modest

Declension

Declension of modest

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	modest		modestă		modești	modeste
	definite	modestul		modesta		modeștii	modestele
genitive- dative	indefinite	modest		modeste		modești	modeste
	definite	modestului		modestei		modeștilor	modestelor