MODEST • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Modest

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/mˈɑdəst/ Listen

adjective

Modest adj.

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.

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. "Mrs. Ford, the honest woman, the modest wife." "The blushing beauties of a modest maid."

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

Synonyms: Reserved; unobtrusive; diffident; bashful; coy; shy; decent; becoming; chaste; virtuous.

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Etymology of 'Modest'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Modest" Quotes from Famous Books

... on the Kingston plantation, and then her granddaughter Milly, who in later times clung to the changing fortunes of the Carroll family, and is at this day a devoted attendant on her invalid mistress, Miss Anna Ella Carroll. A visitor to the modest home in Washington, now occupied by the Carroll sisters, is met at the door by the comely face and pleasant smile of this same faithful Milly. The life-long devotion of the affectionate "Mammy" illustrates one of the most touching features of the old plantation ...

— A Military Genius - Life of Anna Ella Carroll of Maryland • Sarah Ellen Blackwell

... relating to the Beaumantles, and one anecdote especially, drawn, I may say, from the archives of our family, which throws a new light upon the reign and character of Charles II. It is a very able performance is this 'History of the County of Huntingdon;' it is written by a modest and ingenious person of my acquaintance, and I felt great pleasure in lending him my poor assistance in the compilation of it. My name is mentioned in the preface. Perhaps," he added with a significant smile, "it might have claimed ...

— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 53, No. 331, May, 1843 • Various

... burghers, who witness the happy meeting of St. Joachim and Anne at the golden gate of the temple, in his series of prints illustrative of the Life of the Virgin, are such as Duerer might have seen daily loitering by the tower gate opposite his own windows; and the modest-looking maiden with the extravagantly fashionable head-dress, whom he has introduced in his "Marriage of the Virgin," has been absolutely copied from nature; the original sketch, made by his own hand from a Nuernberg damsel, is preserved with many similar studies by him in the British Museum. He ...

— Rambles of an Archaeologist Among Old Books and in Old Places • Frederick William Fairholt

... it," he went on, "I should pack you off on a trip round the world. That would not only amuse you royally but afford you a liberal education into the bargain; but I haven't the money to do that just now, I'm afraid. Some more modest entertainment must be found. H-m! I don't suppose as a makeshift you would care to go into the store with me for a week or two until a better plan ...

— Christopher and the Clockmakers • Sara Ware Bassett

... were a violet I'd think it a shame To be always so simple and modest and tame, To be hidden away like a hermit or nun While the hare-brained pink roses can dance in the sun! But consider the naughty wild ways of the rose— There must be respectable flowers, ...

— Songs for Parents • John Farrar

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