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modesty

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
mod·es·ty  (md-st)
n.
1. The state or quality of being modest.
2. Reserve or propriety in speech, dress, or behavior.
3. Lack of pretentiousness; simplicity.

modesty [ˈmɒdɪstɪ]
n pl -ties
1. the quality or condition of being modest
2. (Clothing & Fashion) (modifier) designed to prevent inadvertent exposure of part of the body a modesty flap

Modesty 

See Also: MEEKNESS, PERSONAL TRAITS

  1. As humbly as a guest who knows himself too late —Hart Crane
  2. Humility is like underwear, essential but indecent if it shows —Helen Nielsen, Reader’s Digest, March, 1959
  3. If you really were a hero … you made it sound routine and unglamorous, like shrugging off a ninety-yard touchdown run as “Good luck and good blocking” —Dan Wakefield
  4. I looked as if I were trying to melt into the scenery and become invisible, like a giraffe standing motionless among sunlit leaves —Christopher Isherwood
  5. Modest as a flower —Ella Wheeler Wilcox
  6. Modest as justice —William Shakespeare
  7. Modesty is like virtue; suspected only when it is advertised —Douglas Malloch
  8. Modesty like a diver gathers pearls by keeping his head low —Punch
  9. Modesty’s at times its own reward, like virtue —Lord Byron
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.modesty - freedom from vanity or conceitmodesty - freedom from vanity or conceit      
decency - the quality of conforming to standards of propriety and morality
Grundyism, primness, prudery, prudishness - excessive or affected modesty
immodesty - the trait of being vain and conceited
2.modesty - formality and propriety of mannermodesty - formality and propriety of manner    
correctitude, properness, propriety - correct or appropriate behavior
demureness - the trait of behaving with reserve and decorum

modesty
noun
2. plainness, simplicity, ordinariness, unpretentiousness, inexpensiveness The modesty of the town itself comes as a surprise.
3. decorum, virtue, decency, delicacy, propriety, sobriety, coyness, demureness, decorousness, seemliness, chasteness There were shrieks as the girls tried to protect their modesty.
Quotations
"Small is the worth"
"Of beauty from the light retir'd;"
"Bid her come forth,"
"Suffer herself to be desir'd,"
"And not blush so to be admir'd" [Edmund Waller Go Lovely Rose!]
Translations
modesty [ˈmɒdɪstɪ] N
1. (= humbleness) → modestia f
in all modesty, I think I could do the job bettermodestamente or con toda modestia, creo yo que podría hacer mejor el trabajo
I can't tell you, modesty forbidsno puedo decírtelo, pecaría de poco modesto
see also false A3
2. (= propriety) → pudor m, recato m
modesty [ˈmɒdɪsti] n
(= absence of pride) → modestie f
[price] → caractère m raisonnable
to protect one's modesty (= decency) → protéger sa pudeur
modesty
n
(= humbleness)Bescheidenheit f; in all modestybei aller Bescheidenheit; the modesty of the man! (iro)der ist ja überhaupt nicht von sich eingenommen! (iro inf)
(= moderation)Bescheidenheit f, → Genügsamkeit f; (of price)Mäßigkeit f
(= chasteness)Schamgefühl nt; (in behaviour) → Anstand m, → Sittsamkeit f (geh), → Züchtigkeit f (old); (in dress) → Unauffälligkeit f, → Dezentheit f
modesty [ˈmɒdɪstɪ] nmodestia
in all modesty → in tutta modestia


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IN PARTICULAR This Work Is Dedicated By A Humble Native Of Flatland In the Hope that Even as he was Initiated into the Mysteries OF THREE DIMENSIONS Having been previously conversant With ONLY TWO So the Citizens of that Celestial Region May aspire yet higher and higher To the Secrets of FOUR FIVE or EVEN SIX Dimensions Thereby contributing To the Enlargement of THE IMAGINATION And the possible Development Of that most and excellent GIFT of MODESTY Among the Superior Races Of SOLID HUMANITY
He maintained, with peculiar satisfaction, it seemed, that maiden modesty is a mere relic of barbarism, and that nothing could be more natural than for a man still youngish to handle a young girl naked.
Believe me, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that your modesty, so far from doing you any disservice, rather adds to your other perfections.
 
 
 
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