Modesty
Modesty and modest have two rather different meanings. The word is used as an antonym of boastfulness; a modest person does not draw attention to their own real or supposed accomplishments and desirable attributes. Terms related to "modesty" in this sense include "humility", "shyness", and "simplicity". A related usage is for some object or attribute that is, in fact, not very desirable; a "modest dwelling" would describe a hut, but not a palace.
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Famous quotes containing the word modesty:
“Impoliteness is frequently the sign of an awkward modesty that loses its head when surprised and hopes to conceal this with rudeness.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“The man who is ostentatious of his modesty is twin to the statue that wears a fig-leaf.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“It was modesty that invented the word “philosopher” in Greece and left the magnificent overweening presumption in calling oneself wise to the actors of the spirit—the modesty of such monsters of pride and sovereignty as Pythagoras, as Plato.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)