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English vocabulary question

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 8:54 pm
by Jar-Ptitsa
I've got a question about a word in English:

The opposite of arrogant or show off can be modest or humble.

I mean when you describe a person.

arrogant (adjective)
show off (noun or verb)

modest (adj)
humble (adj)

so, my question is, if exists a noun or verb synonym for humble? or maybe you have to add 'person'. 'show off' is quite flexible because you can use it as a noun, so I'd like to know if a good antonym exists for that.

Thank you :)

Edit: of course i know those words, they're really easy to guess haha :lol: but I mean if English has got a word that is the opposite of show-off (noun). I like it when one langauge has a word that another lanaguge hasn't got. German is great for this!!!

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 9:50 pm
by DaveBee
A show off, showing off.

A person could be a wall-flower/ghost and you could use them as verbs.

John was there, and spent the evening wall-flowering.
John was there, ghosting about.

But a ghost can also be a SPY, so mild-mannered AND a man of action! What a catch!

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 10:00 pm
by reineke
An anti-braggart, self-effacer, self-doubter.

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 10:33 pm
by Xmmm
I think the kind of nouns you're looking for are almost always created as aspersions. Braggart, wastrel, spendthrift, blowhard, cad, lech, loafer, moocher, miser, gossip, fop.

So, I can think of nouns for "humble person" with negative connotations: mouse, doormat, milquetoast. But I can't think of any positive ones.

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 2:47 am
by Speakeasy
I believe that the noun/adjective pair that you're looking for is humility/humble.

Humility is the state of being humble or free from pride or arrogance.

A range of synonyms for the noun humility suggested by the Webster's dictionary include: humbleness, modesty, meekness, diffidence, unassertiveness, servility, submissiveness. However, in my view these are not necessarily interchangeable: I would never replace modesty by servility.

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 5:02 am
by Speakeasy
Xmmm wrote: ... I can think of nouns for "humble person" with negative connotations ... But I can't think of any positive ones.
An oft-used synonym for "humble" is "modest" which denotes the absence of vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions and a "modest person" is generally perceived as someone displaying an admirable trait of character. Still, in the hands of a skilled orator, being called "modest" can serve as a left-handed compliment: "Mr. Attlee is a very modest man. Indeed he has a lot to be modest about." - Winston Churchill

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 6:12 am
by Xmmm
OP wants a concrete noun meaning the opposite of "a show-off". If it doesn't exist, maybe we should make it up and see if it goes viral.

Possibilities:

humilicant (fake derivation from Latin)
humilidor (fake derivation from Spanish, or maybe again from Latin I don't know)
crevasse (as in, crevasses are deep and quiet and so is this guy)

I'm sure others can come up with better neologisms ... please get to work and remember when you're done I get the credit. :)

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 7:05 am
by zenmonkey
A supplicant.
Apparently not used enough to be current coin and with too many other meanings.

How about a modest mouse. A bit slangish.

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:04 pm
by Tillumadoguenirurm
Unassuming.

Re: English vocabulary question

Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 11:56 am
by Jar-Ptitsa
DaveBee wrote:A show off, showing off.

A person could be a wall-flower/ghost and you could use them as verbs.

John was there, and spent the evening wall-flowering.
John was there, ghosting about.

But a ghost can also be a SPY, so mild-mannered AND a man of action! What a catch!


Thanks for your reply. I didn't know those words :)

Mild-mannered seems nice, but not a spy. Wall-flower and ghost seem like the person is invisible, so not loud or overwhelming, so I suppose a different type of antonym of show-off.