Humbly

Without claiming undue importance, certainty, or superiority.

Reach for it when expressing modesty while still stating a contribution clearly

She humbly credited the growers whose knowledge shaped the final report.

• playful

  hat in hand

  deliberate deference suits an informal image

  not when The idiom can imply submission or apology, not healthy humility.

• everyday

  modestly

  achievement is presented without self-inflation

  not when Modestly can also mean to a small degree and may be ambiguous.

• warm

  graciously

  credit and praise are received with ease and generosity

  not when Graceful manners can conceal a strong sense of superiority.

• professional

  respectfully

  regard for another person's standing shapes the tone

  not when Respect can be shown confidently and does not require humility.

• formal

  unassumingly

  a quiet manner avoids drawing attention to status

  not when Unassuming behavior says little about openness to correction.

• literary

  without pretension

  the absence of display or inflated status is the point

  not when This phrase concerns style more than honest awareness of limits.

• arrogantly
• boastfully
• imperiously

• humbly accept

  I humbly accept the role and the responsibility that comes with it.

• humbly acknowledge

  We humbly acknowledge that residents understood the risk before we did.

• ask humbly

  The prince learned to ask humbly for the gardener's advice.

• Humble adj.

• Wiktionary, English adverb sense: in a humble manner ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.