modesty.

1. A lack of boastfulness or excessive display in presenting oneself.

2. Behavior or dress judged to avoid excessive exposure or sexual display.

3. The small or moderate scale of something rather than its grandeur or extent.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• false modesty
• genuine modesty

On the page

Her modesty kept the account from becoming self-congratulatory.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.