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:
“Although modesty is natural to man, it is not natural to children. Modesty only begins with the knowledge of evil.”
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)
“If modesty and candor are necessary to an author in his judgment of his own works, no less are they in his reader.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)
“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)