modestmod‧est /ˈmɒdɪst $ ˈmɑː-/ ●●○ adjective 
He was always modest about his role in the Everest expedition. You’re too modest! You’ve been a huge help to us.2not big not very great, big, or expensive: a modest increase in costs She had saved a modest amount of money. The new service proved a modest success. a modest house with a small garden his modest ambitions3shy shy about showing your body or attracting sexual interest, because you are easily embarrassed OPP immodest: She was a modest girl, always keeping covered, even in summer.4clothes old-fashioned modest clothing covers the body in a way that does not attract sexual interest: a modest knee-length dress—modestly adverb: ‘I was just lucky,’ he said modestly. modestly priced mealsTHESAURUSmodest not wanting to talk about your abilities or achievements and to say that you are good at something, even when you are – used to show approval: · Miller, a quiet, modest man, gave credit to Asher for the initial discovery.· She was surprisingly modest about her own achievements as a player.self-effacing written not wanting to talk about yourself or to attract attention: · Her husband was a quiet, self-effacing man who spent much of his time in his study.unassuming not wanting to be noticed and not expecting to be treated in a special way: · By now Chapman was famous, but he remained as unassuming as ever.· He then began, in typically unassuming fashion, to establish the first modern dance company.humble believing that you are not more important, better, or cleverer than other people, and therefore not expecting to be treated in a special way: · A good leader is humble enough to get advice from experts.unpretentious not trying to seem better than other people, even if you are rich, famous, clever etc: · President Eisenhower was a friendly and unpretentious man who seemed to embody American virtues.· It's his unpretentious boyish charm that ensures Jackie Chan's position as one of the giants of international cinema.self-deprecating written behaving or talking about your own abilities or achievements in a way that makes them seem unimportant: · Despite his intellect, he had an appealing self-deprecating humour.· The nice thing about him is his self-deprecating manner. His intellectual ability was never pushed at you, yet he obviously had great potential.· a self-deprecating smile
WORD ORIGINmodest
Origin:
1500-1600 Latin modestusEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Don't be so modest!
- Elliot's home in Ironwood is modest, but surrounded by beautiful forests.
- Luke was too modest to talk about his past achievements.
- Renzel remains one of the most sincere and modest men I know.
- She was a shy, modest person, never one to push herself forward.
- Some new brands from South America are making terrific wines for modest prices.
- They're really very modest bathing suits.
- He was a modest and inspiring person, greatly consumed by the mystery of life.
- If you could get permission for this modest proposal, all you would need to do is find the funding.
- It falls most heavily on people with very modest savings or houses who have not taken appropriate advice.
- Jorgensen and Brinner predicted that many people would choose to own more modest homes on smaller lots.
- Kurtzman said a modest business site can cost as little as $ 4, 000 with his Houston company.
- Revenue figures necessarily start at a modest level and even 100 percent growth leaves us with a level only slightly less modest.
- Visible for a modest $ 2 per person fee, the nine paintings show satyr-like men grappling uncertainly with fleshy nude women.
THESAURUS
not wanting to talk about your abilities or achievements and to say that you are good at something, even when you are – used to show approval: · Miller, a quiet, modest man, gave credit to Asher for the initial discovery.· She was surprisingly modest about her own achievements as a player.
written not wanting to talk about yourself or to attract attention: · Her husband was a quiet, self-effacing man who spent much of his time in his study.
not wanting to be noticed and not expecting to be treated in a special way: · By now Chapman was famous, but he remained as unassuming as ever.· He then began, in typically unassuming fashion, to establish the first modern dance company.
believing that you are not more important, better, or cleverer than other people, and therefore not expecting to be treated in a special way: · A good leader is humble enough to get advice from experts.
not trying to seem better than other people, even if you are rich, famous, clever etc: · President Eisenhower was a friendly and unpretentious man who seemed to embody American virtues.· It's his unpretentious boyish charm that ensures Jackie Chan's position as one of the giants of international cinema.
written behaving or talking about your own abilities or achievements in a way that makes them seem unimportant: · Despite his intellect, he had an appealing self-deprecating humour.· The nice thing about him is his self-deprecating manner. His intellectual ability was never pushed at you, yet he obviously had great potential.· a self-deprecating smile
Longman Language Activatora modest person unwilling to talk about your abilities or achievements and to say that you are good at something, even when you are: · Luke was too modest to talk about his past achievements.· She was a shy, modest person, never one to push herself forward.
formal not wanting to talk about yourself or to attract attention: · Her husband was a quiet, self-effacing man who spent much of his time in his study.· In those days women were expected to be quiet, passive and self-effacing.
not wanting to be noticed and not expecting to be treated in a special way, because you do not think you are important: · I often see her in the library. She's such a nice, unassuming person.· By now Chapman was famous, but on a social level he remained as unassuming as ever.
thinking that you are unimportant and not as good or clever as other people, and therefore not expecting to be treated in a special way: · Their father was a genuinely humble man, who had worked hard for his family all his life.· Stephanie was humble enough to admit that others could probably do the job better than she could.
not trying to seem better than other people, even if you are rich, famous, clever etc: · Umbria is a wonderful region, where life is simple and the people are unpretentious country folk.· Jilly was surprised by how pleasant and unpretentious he was. Not like a big star at all.
to be too modest to tell people that you are less good, skilful etc than you really are: · He puts himself down, but he's really very gifted.· You know you're a good teacher. Don't run yourself down all the time.
informal to not tell people enough about your skills, ability etc, especially in a situation where other people are deciding whether to offer you a job or choose you for something: · If you sell yourself short at the interview, you'll never get the job. Let them know how good you are.· You're brilliant at tennis - don't sell yourself short.
to believe that you are less clever, good, skilful etc than you really are: · Don't underestimate yourself -- you can easily win.· I think you underestimate yourself when you say you couldn't cope with a job like this.
modest behaviour a modest way of behaving or talking: · His honesty and modesty endeared him to many people who valued his wise advice.· "I'm a bank manager," she said, then added with typical modesty, "of a very small bank."false modesty (=when somebody only pretends to be modest): · Miranda was not one for false modesty. She enjoyed being told that she was beautiful.
when someone is not proud, and does not think that they are more important, clever etc than other people: · As I listened to him speak, I was filled with a sense of humility.· Mother Theresa remained a woman of great humility, despite all the attention and praise her work received.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY a modest increase in costs She had saved a modest amount of money. The new service proved a modest success.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES For a relatively small outlay, you can start a home hairdressing business.
1not proud someone who is modest does not want to talk about their abilities or achievements OPP immodest, boastfulmodest about a modest increase in costs She had saved a modest amount of money. The new service proved a modest success. formal (=a small business, shop etc)· Mineo’s Pizza House is a modest but busy establishment just off the High Street.
(=an aim that is not too difficult to achieve)· Don’t try to lose a lot of weight quickly; set yourself a more modest goal.
(=small)· The figures reveal a modest increase in the birth rate.
For a relatively small outlay, you can start a home hairdressing business.· The business managed to produce a small profit last year.
(=not very great)· On the foreign exchanges the pound managed a modest recovery from Thursday’s slump.
(=not a very big amount of money)· She had paid a modest sum for the paintings.
(=not very high)· The Kyoto Protocol set fairly modest targets for reductions in greenhouse gases.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Women who get relief and even enjoyment from crying can share this knowledge, given even modest encouragement.· The DARPA-funded study points out that this speed falls far short of the computational capabilities of even modest biological networks.· The Environment Agency warns that even modest rainfall could cause more floods because the ground is so waterlogged.· Experience is beginning to show us how necessary is even modest investment in such programmes.
· This is a fairly modest and harmless little Bill.· Stone is normally a fairly modest person.· It is £1,685.02, a fairly modest sum after nearly seven years of investment.· Initially, this could be done by instituting two fairly modest reforms.· The house is fairly modest as stately homes go but I knew the gardens were outstanding as soon as I glimpsed them.
· The first is that most airlines, however modest, like to think of themselves as providers of comfort, even luxury.· I bought them on the principle that anything so simple, however modest, would be unlikely to go wrong.· And recognize your achievements, however modest.· Each step, however modest, should be seen as an important accomplishment.
· But I think a more modest aim would make you just as happy, just as satisfied.· North of Larchmont, the homes are more modest turn-of-the-century bungalows with two or three bedrooms.· In the middle ranges the risks were less, and although the prospects were obviously more modest, profits were assured.· That role is more modest than the one design has traditionally played.· On the other side of the Andes, stations were built in a much more modest style.· So a few very wealthy contributors can make up for the absence of a great number of more modest donations.· But these facts are not indicative of a significantly lower priority, nor necessarily of a substantially more modest achievement.· That hot-spot eruption lasted some 2 million years before petering out to a more modest flow.
· Twinkling sleighs, sporting six pairs of reindeer and a fat-free Santa, decorate even the most modest of houses.· But the fact is that getting a government job has only the most modest relation to merit.· They don't rate freedom especially highly and their drinking habits are the most modest in our sample.· Congress meanwhile has refused to adopt even the most modest gun control.· In this catastrophe, the most modest accounts say that at least 400 ships were destroyed.· Few, though, have the strength for any but the most modest mergers.· The best are excellent, and the most modest are never less than attractive.
· In material terms it gave only modest returns.· Grant and co-star Julianne Moore provide only modest charm as the couple expecting their first baby.· Consequently, there are few middle-level managers and only modest differences in the status and income of senior managers and junior employees.· Like the other emissaries, present and absent, Aung San Suu Kyi made only modest requests of her audience.· That effort produced only modest reductions in uniformed personnel and military units and preserved all major procurement programs.· The spacious dining room with its trademark greenhouse ceiling will undergo only modest remodeling.· Indeed, historians believe that there had been only modest improvement over the previous three centuries.· For instance, the report found only modest progress in the portion of all births to teen-agers.
· But otherwise it's quite modest.· The rate of power consumption would be quite modest in such a postindustrial, steady-state society.· The result is substantial sales, but at low prices - operating worthwhile, but quite modest, revenue.· Given their interesting nature, our systematic knowledge about them is quite modest.· By contrast with the Treaty of Rome, the Stockholm Convention was quite modest, in both length and ambition.· More specifically, a look ahead at Table 27-1 reveals a list of industries wherein economic concentration is quite modest.· At first, the plan was quite modest and not even crudely geometric, as it was later to become.· A family business, with quite modest funds, has a pressing need for more capital.
· However, the falls were relatively modest and, in the case of the Crown Court at least, were soon reversed.· My relatively modest system certainly has never seen the likes of the Tube Terminators.· But the dividend income is relatively modest, and coming from abroad they are not a tax-efficient source of income.· Even a relatively modest addition to the liberal framework, universal health coverage, remains elusive.· Shop sales grew again in May, but the upturn was relatively modest.· In 1996, Pryce spent a relatively modest $ 384, 780, and raised about $ 522, 000.· But these changes through the birth rate remained relatively modest in this country until the present century.· They offer relatively modest standards but always clean and well managed accommodation.
· It seemed too modest to be profitable.· Mr. Snape My hon. Friend is far too modest.· Because he was too modest to send a photo of himself we hope this will surf ice!· You're too modest, Miss Williams.· I was far too modest, and far too hurt.
· It was a very modest sum for Helmut.· Working for the very modest federal salaries of the time, they actually wrote much of the legislation of the New Deal.· Being of very modest means, but having some contacts upon the turf, he attempted to increase his wages by gambling.· Since 1976, the flow of new investment has been very modest, and in some years negative.· Deuterium is present in small amounts in water, from which it can be extracted at very modest cost.· These may have foyers, halls or exhibition areas which are available for artists sometimes at very modest rates.· Austin agreed and I began work on my first, very modest contribution to deep-sea research.
NOUN· Installation of the new system will save time and a modest amount of money.· Often only a modest amount of exploration is required to resolve these disturbing feelings.· They have managed to refinance their debts and even obtain modest amounts of new money fairly painlessly.· But others in our society have less ability and have received modest amounts of education and training.· No animal or plant can withstand ultraviolet radiation in more than modest amounts.· Finally, if you are borrowing only modest amounts, the interest rates on personal loans can be rather unattractive.· It takes a relatively modest amount of scientific evidence to have a substance banned.· So, in addition to the modest amount he charged, we gave him our tile cutter.
· The prospect of good wages and modest gains provided ample inducement to serve; but there were no doubt other motives as well.· But even such modest gains were expensive.· Still, the fact that closing Napster may bring only modest gains makes the case a closer call.· Growing concerns about profit margins sent technology stocks sharply lower, overshadowing modest gains for blue-chip stocks.· The sterling-denominated funds have recorded relatively modest gains across a narrow spread of returns.
· With modest growth and an unemployment rate of around 7%, it may seem odd to worry about inflation.· This assumes a modest growth rate of 5 per cent, although many investors will have gained far more.· When planting be careful to select plants of modest growth.· All we are expecting at this stage is modest growth in this half year.
· Her modest home sparkled, and her doorstep was the whitest in the street.· Jorgensen and Brinner predicted that many people would choose to own more modest homes on smaller lots.· A modest home for the Madonna.· Even a relatively modest home improvement project can mean quite a large commitment.
· This is more likely if you have a modest income.· As you were over 75 and on a modest income, you were allowed the first £4,180 tax free.· As a married man over 75 and on a modest income, you are allowed the first £6,875 free of tax.· These were very modest incomes by then current standards.· That leaves groups of people who are above income support and rebate levels, but who none the less have quite modest incomes.
· That is described in the Treasury's paper as a modest increase.· Legislative leaders, who approved modest increases in college funding in the last few years, could not be reached Friday.· For a very modest increase, the authority could finance the £100 million required for the strategy.· Some predicted modest increases, but others were less optimistic.
· Revenue figures necessarily start at a modest level and even 100 percent growth leaves us with a level only slightly less modest.· Neurons bathed in modest levels of caffeine respond more vigorously to stimulation and form longer-lasting changes in their connections with other neurons.· Clerical and administrative backup were provided at only a modest level.· For those who are already reading at a modest level, this might prove to be an optimistic factor.· Boat traffic needs to be kept at modest levels in order to protect one of Britain's most outstanding botanical treasures.· Subsequent studies have not endorsed this, but they seem to show that there is a more modest level of improvement.
· He was a very modest man, refusing to take any credit for the enterprise that bore his name.· Chavez, a modest man who asked not to be proposed for a Nobel Peace Prize, died in 1993.
· Even private investors of modest means can use offshore centres for tax referral.· The family survived on modest means.· They were genteel ladies and unmarried, and what they could claim, therefore, were modest means and purity.· Being of very modest means, but having some contacts upon the turf, he attempted to increase his wages by gambling.· Many Low Countrymen of more modest means emigrated for much of the year to work in expanding sectors of the economy.· The Latin pauper means a person of modest means rather than some one without food, roof, or clothing.· Artists such as de Staël, Pollock and Rothko who had hitherto lived on modest means were thrown into comparative affluence.
· Young men formed neighbourhood jazz bands, creating uniforms out of crêpe paper and competing against one another for modest prices.· With many excises however, modest price increases have little or 00 effect on sales.· A large woman, who confessed to weighing fifteen stone, she championed the manufacture of outsize clothes at modest prices.· Paul's verdict: I was impressed by the specification of the this sack - especially considering the modest price.· Buffallo, however, have come up with a good trowel at a very modest price.· For domestic display, hand-pulled artists' prints could be purchased at modest prices in the Artists' Union's shops.· Internal UPSs have a lot going for them - modest price, easy installation, fix-and-forget security.
· Following his forecast for a modest recovery in 1991, which did not appear.
· It seems that the effect of Pleistocene sea levels may, in fact, be evident on a more modest scale.· But the assumption was always that his first attempt at direction should be on a modest scale.· Now others - though on a more modest scale - are emulating their tactics.· At West Ham the club was run by two families involved locally in business on a modest scale.
· It wasn't obviously a particularly long discussion ... you are dealing with a company of a modest size ....· Although it was the capital, it was only of modest size.· Gifts of a modest size were of course perfectly tolerable.· They were of modest size with an underground stem, but without spreading roots.· Its modest size appeals to visitors who gain an unusual insight into the domestic life of the house.· Many of the fields most popular with applicants have targets of modest size.· Three others - all of an equally modest size - grouped around it.· Adam was disappointed by its modest size, but didn't show his feelings.
· This modest success was bought at the expense of mounting employee grievances.· She had some modest successes behind her with short stories.· But the second attempt was a modest success.· These reflect a relatively late period of modest success for the town.· I have had some modest success in this regard, and pass on here some tips I have used.· He worked with others for a strong resolution against cruelty to marine animals, but with only modest success.
· It was a very modest sum for Helmut.· In fact, investing had been on my mind because of a modest sum of money that had unexpectedly come my way.· Participating organisations will receive modest sums to defray recruiting, training and reporting costs.· Yet this one modest sum brings you some remarkable advantages.· It is £1,685.02, a fairly modest sum after nearly seven years of investment.· Added to which, these were simple people who worked hard for modest sums of money.
· I always admired his wonderful modest way when running a course at Woolley Hall.· Even small independents are getting in on the act in a modest way, though.· He had been milling in a modest way at Grove Mill near Painswick, but presumably saw where the future lay.· But his presence was every bit as formidable in its modest way as that of the patrician Heifetz.· Took the credit for myself in my usual modest way, said my information came from Algiers ten days ago.· Fertility increases in Britain occurred in a modest way in the later 1930s and much more strikingly between the mid-1950s and 1960s.· None the less, in an admittedly modest way, his idea is beginning to work.
He was always modest about his role in the Everest expedition. You’re too modest! You’ve been a huge help to us.2not big not very great, big, or expensive: a modest increase in costs She had saved a modest amount of money. The new service proved a modest success. a modest house with a small garden his modest ambitions3shy shy about showing your body or attracting sexual interest, because you are easily embarrassed OPP immodest: She was a modest girl, always keeping covered, even in summer.4clothes old-fashioned modest clothing covers the body in a way that does not attract sexual interest: a modest knee-length dress—modestly adverb: ‘I was just lucky,’ he said modestly. modestly priced mealsTHESAURUSmodest not wanting to talk about your abilities or achievements and to say that you are good at something, even when you are – used to show approval: · Miller, a quiet, modest man, gave credit to Asher for the initial discovery.· She was surprisingly modest about her own achievements as a player.self-effacing written not wanting to talk about yourself or to attract attention: · Her husband was a quiet, self-effacing man who spent much of his time in his study.unassuming not wanting to be noticed and not expecting to be treated in a special way: · By now Chapman was famous, but he remained as unassuming as ever.· He then began, in typically unassuming fashion, to establish the first modern dance company.humble believing that you are not more important, better, or cleverer than other people, and therefore not expecting to be treated in a special way: · A good leader is humble enough to get advice from experts.unpretentious not trying to seem better than other people, even if you are rich, famous, clever etc: · President Eisenhower was a friendly and unpretentious man who seemed to embody American virtues.· It's his unpretentious boyish charm that ensures Jackie Chan's position as one of the giants of international cinema.self-deprecating written behaving or talking about your own abilities or achievements in a way that makes them seem unimportant: · Despite his intellect, he had an appealing self-deprecating humour.· The nice thing about him is his self-deprecating manner. His intellectual ability was never pushed at you, yet he obviously had great potential.· a self-deprecating smile