Roget's Thesaurus

#881. Modesty

Nouns

modesty; humility etc. 879; diffidence, timidity; retiring disposition; unobtrusiveness; bashfulness etc. adj.; mauvaise honte [Fr.]; blush, blushing; verecundity; self-knowledge. reserve, constraint; demureness etc. adj.; blushing honors [Henry VIII].

Verbs

be modest etc. adj.; retire, reserve oneself; give way to; draw in one's horns etc. 879; hide one's face. keep private, keep in the background, keep one's distance; pursue the noiseless tenor of one's way, do good by stealth and blush to find it fame [Pope], hide one's light under a bushel, cast a sheep's eye.

Adjectives

modest, diffident; humble etc. 879; timid, timorous, bashful; shy, nervous, skittish, coy, sheepish, shamefaced, blushing, overmodest. unpretending, unpretentious; unobtrusive, unassuming, unostentatious, unboastful, unaspiring; poor in spirit. out of countenance etc. (humbled) 879. reserved, constrained, demure.

Adverbs

humbly etc. adj.; quietly, privately; without ceremony, without beat of drum; sans facon.

Phrases

not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty [Romeo and Juliet]; thy modesty's a candle to thy merit [Fielding].