Humbling

How to spell humbling

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce humbling

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does humbling mean?

1. adjectiveCausing someone to feel modest or aware of their limitations, often through an impressive or moving experience.
2. verbThe act of lowering someone's pride or importance; present participle of 'humble'.

Humbling in a sentence

• adjective

  Receiving the award in front of her colleagues was a deeply humbling moment.

• verb

  The coach believed that humbling the star players occasionally kept the squad united.

• adjective

  Volunteering at the shelter proved to be a humbling experience for the whole team.

• verb

  The report was aimed at humbling the executives who had ignored every warning.

Where does humbling come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from the adjective 'humble', which English took from Old French 'humble' in the 1200s, itself descended from the Latin 'humilis', meaning 'low' or 'lowly'. The Latin root reaches back further to 'humus', the plain word for 'ground' or 'earth', so the original image is of something close to the soil, modest rather than lofty. From this came the verb 'to humble', meaning to lower someone in rank or pride, and 'humbling' is its present participle, describing an experience that brings a person down to a modest, grateful frame of mind. The same earthy 'humus' root surfaces in 'exhume', literally to take out of the ground, which is a useful reminder that the silent gap in spelling sits between the 'b' and the '-ling': the 'b' is written but barely sounded. Keeping the 'le' of 'humble' in mind, then swapping it for '-ing', helps fix the awkward 'bl' cluster that trips many writers.

How the word is built

• humble (from Latin humilis: low, lowly)
• -ing (present participle/adjective suffix)