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Definition of modest in English:

modest

Pronunciation /ˈmädəst/ /ˈmɑdəst/

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adjective

1Unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one's abilities or achievements.
‘he was a very modest man, refusing to take any credit for the enterprise’
- ‘He is a quiet, unassuming lad and so modest about his many talents.’
- ‘He's modest about his achievements, self-effacing about his music and finds an old-fashioned dignity in hard work.’
- ‘Despite the magnitude of her work, I find Kate surprisingly down to earth and genuinely modest about the achievements she will leave behind when she hands over the reins on her 65th birthday.’
- ‘But Rosanna is a little more modest about her achievements.’
- ‘He believed in raditional virtues - he was a man of the people, he was never high-handed about himself, he was often too modest about his achievements.’
- ‘Despite her handiwork having decorated the entire village for many carnivals, Wendy remains modest about her achievement.’
- ‘He was kind, generous and always modest about his achievements.’
- ‘Though he was very modest about his business abilities, no one can deny the renown he has won as a mariner.’
- ‘We also need to be modest about our ability to find the answers for other societies.’
- ‘In person, they're wonderful conversationalists that are modest about their achievements and passionate about their artistic pursuits.’
- ‘Butch was also modest about his playing ability.’
- ‘It is also little wonder that most serious scientists tend to be modest about their ability to forecast large-scale climate changes.’
- ‘Adamson can be modest about his athletic ability because it's only one ingredient in his adventure-contest success.’
- ‘After the first couple of hours of riding, Elizabeth had a suspicion that Andrew had been modest about his riding ability.’
- ‘We are trying to hone in on the talent, focus on the best stories, and we try to be low-key and modest about our role.’
- ‘Thankful that she has the health, and the will to do most of the things she hankers after in life, nevertheless she is modest about her abilities.’
- ‘Quiet, unassuming, modest, but they get the job done with no fuss.’
- ‘Why is he so modest about his own contribution to the process?’
- ‘He's quite modest about this fact, because he likes to think of himself as a humble slacker from the suburbs.’
- ‘She became conductor soon after, but is modest about her role in the band.’
self-effacing, self-deprecating, humble, unpretentious, unassuming, unpresuming, unostentatious, low-key, free from vanity, keeping one's light under a bushel
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2(of an amount, rate, or level) relatively moderate, limited, or small.
‘drink modest amounts of alcohol’
- ‘employment growth was relatively modest’
- ‘Let's find the relatively modest amounts needed to fund things people want, and let's do it without chopping away at other programs with an axe.’
- ‘Australia has long had a remarkably good university system, and used relatively modest levels of public investment in higher education very effectively.’
- ‘A relatively modest amount of money could fund programs that would have a significant impact on smoking in Canada and allow those looking to quit to find help.’
- ‘If a relatively modest amount of money was spent now, the maintenance costs for the future would be no more than for a new building.’
- ‘Their boards give them stock options but in relatively modest amounts.’
- ‘Most, however, are living off the income derived from a relatively modest amount of capital - the equivalent of a few million baht rather than tens let alone hundreds of millions.’
- ‘‘We would argue that the toll levels are being set at relatively modest levels,’ Tobin said.’
- ‘The relatively modest amount of silver used probably explains the bowl's survival.’
- ‘This reflected a trend in the 1920s for ‘a modest rate’ of increase in the number of companies producing group information.’
- ‘He said it was accepted that spending would increase at modest rates.’
- ‘It has led to a modest rate increase of about 1 per cent over the past year, compared to the steady decline last year.’
- ‘Average rental values this year should at best increase by a modest amount but will probably be fairly static, the report said.’
- ‘This slowdown would be reinforced by a more modest rate of increase in house prices spreading across the country.’
- ‘‘She does not accept that she was drunk, although she had consumed a modest amount of alcohol,’ said Mr Murphy.’
- ‘My car has surprisingly poor traction, even in rather modest curves at moderate speeds.’
- ‘But there is also a big market in contemporary art and for modest amounts you can buy colourful, decorative pieces relatively cheaply.’
- ‘As the economy slows to very modest levels of growth, cutting interest rates is a prime mechanism for boosting economic output.’
- ‘Some people who have not had a problem with alcohol use may be permitted by their doctor to use a modest amount of alcohol while taking one of the newer antidepressants.’
- ‘Alcohol in modest amounts may have a protective effect on bone density, but sustained high consumption causes bone loss.’
- ‘By extension, adaptation theory should be able to tolerate at least modest amounts of correlation among fitness values.’
moderate, fair, tolerable, passable, adequate, satisfactory, acceptable, unexceptional, small
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1. 2.1(of a place in which one lives, eats, or stays) not excessively large, elaborate, or expensive.
  ‘we had bought a modest house’
  ‘They take great pride in showing their houses, modest flats on the outside, but inside renovated kitchens and bathrooms and all the mod cons amongst the religious icons.’
  ‘Our venue became too expensive for our modest means.’
  ‘Through the darkness I could make out a modest, tan coloured house with an overgrown garden and grubby looking shudders drooping from the windows.’
  ‘About 260 homes, ranging from modest to expensive, were destroyed.’
  ‘A modest postwar ranch house of anonymous character is dwarfed by a second story - clearly an addition.’
  ‘Their simple requirements can be accommodated in a modest flat.’
  ‘On his books, this, well, rather modest house, is worth around $1.5 million.’
  ‘The saving on a £200,000 property - a mansion in some parts of Scotland, a modest flat in others - would be £40,000.’
  ‘‘There is only so much you can do from the spare rooms of a modest suburban house in Melbourne's eastern suburbs,’ he told them.’
  ‘I got a modest little house and an old pickup truck.’
  ‘Returning to her mother's modest beach house after decades of estrangement, she stops for a moment as she unpacks to listen to the pounding surf.’
  ‘There was no sign of forced entry and the chemical plant worker's fishing boat was parked outside the modest, one-story brick house.’
  ‘He lives in a modest house in Wonosari, Surabaya.’
  ‘Their modest house, in an underbuilt new neighborhood of eastern Baghdad, stood baking in the relentless yellow light of midday.’
  ‘The police clearly took the reports of a similar find in Australia seriously, and last Friday Sydney police launched a dawn raid on a modest two-storey house in the suburbs.’
  ‘The three of them live together in a very modest, almost nondescript house on the outskirts of Princeton, across the railroad tracks.’
  ‘My earliest memories are formed by two houses: a modest white one on the edge of an Orkney loch, and a larger pink one looking out across the Cromarty Firth.’
  ‘Born in Mede, he lived with his wife and children in a modest group of houses built in the traditional style and situated on the outskirts of the village.’
  ‘One, that someone could come from a very modest house, in a tiny little town of less than 200, and go to the very top in the United States.’
  ‘Deep in the heart of New Malden, in a modest semi-detached house near the A3, lies an extraordinary assortment of show business treasures.’
  small, ordinary, simple, plain, humble, homely
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3Dressing or behaving so as to avoid impropriety or indecency, especially to avoid attracting sexual attention (typically used of a woman)
‘the modest women wear long-sleeved dresses and all but cover their faces’
- ‘She tells him to find a pretty and modest girl whom he respects and to wait until he's through with college, because he's not half good enough for whoever the girl is.’
- ‘Never a modest girl at heart, I enjoyed commanding his attention.’
- ‘She was not exactly a genteel lady, but she was modest and naive in many respects.’
- ‘But she was modest and sweet-tempered, a lady in manners and in conduct about whom there was never a word of scandal.’
- ‘Although tradition suggests that young Chinese women be modest, no signs of embarrassment or shyness can be read on the waitresses' faces.’
- ‘Anne is unduly modest on her blog, but she is a long-standing author of Mills and Boon romances.’
- ‘I had a plain t-shirt underneath and I am a modest girl.’
- ‘Me still being the modest girl I motion for Stewart to look away while I disrobed my rain soaked clothes.’
- ‘Muriel, being the modest girl that she was, averted her eyes and blushed.’
- ‘He said older women need only meet the laxer condition of dressing ‘in a modest manner.’’
- ‘Was I supposed to find something appropriately frilly and covered in sequins, or should I wear something demure and modest?’
1. 3.1(of clothing) not revealing or emphasizing the figure.
  ‘modest dress means that hemlines must be below the knee’
  ‘My mother showed up dressed in a modest skirt and jacket along with my little brothers, Robert and Connor.’
  ‘Some were dressed in very modest gowns, while others were practically falling out of their bodices.’
  ‘Finally, I was standing in my under garments and fumbled around in the twilight for some modest clothing.’
  ‘She was dressed in a modest suit, but looked approvingly at my dress.’
  ‘Even in her prim, modest sweater and slacks, she may be the best-dressed person among them.’
  ‘Her shirt and skirt were still modest, even if it was torn a little.’
  ‘The Islamic rules for modest dress apply to both women and men equally.’
  ‘And it didn't help any that she was probably wearing something that would make his grandmother faint underneath her deceptively modest robe.’
  ‘Isabella noticed that her own neckline was lower than Gillian's modest dress.’
  ‘But it felt so strange and unnatural to me that I wished nothing more than to be back in a modest dress.’
  ‘The dress was modest, a medium cut top, three quarter sleeve, tight bodice and a moderate skirt.’
  ‘Women on their own would be well advised not to travel outside of these areas and to comply with local sensibilities, particularly by wearing long sleeves and modest clothing in town areas.’
  ‘On the other hand, she's different, wearing a black, modest coat and remaining silent, whereas the other girl wore pale, frilly clothes and giggled.’
  ‘She was roughly five feet tall, dressed in a modest green gown, and holding on to a polished black cane.’
  ‘She is not only modest in her dress, but in her actions and manners as well.’
  ‘I pulled out a modest peach dress and pulled it on.’
  ‘Her face was alight with anticipation as she set the chalk down, reached up, and began to unfasten the top golden button to her modest daisy dress.’
  ‘The smiles was coquettish, fetching, and she traced the modest neck on her dress as if an invitation to seeing what was under it.’
  ‘And of course, modest dress is expected of women when they enter a temple.’
  decorous, decent, seemly, demure, sober, severe
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