humble,

humble, vb. Most traditionally, to humble is to lower the subject’s condition, rank, or position, especially by debasement or humiliation. An army might be humbled by repeated defeats, or a fighter might be humbled by a superior opponent <he was humbled by the unexpected loss>. By extension, the word has a softer sense: to humble can be to make a person realize that he or she isn’t as important or as virtuous as the person previously thought.

    Since the 1970s, however, humble has become common in acceptance speeches, especially in such phrases as humbled by the honor or humbled by your generosity. The idea originally seems to have been that the recipient of an award, title, or other honor feels unworthy of it. But often this comes across as false modesty, especially because people hear humbled and perceive it as being equivalent to honored or cheered or buoyed, especially when the sentence is uttered with a radiant smile.

     In short, the verb humble is undergoing a slow reversal in sense, from “to humiliate” to “to honor.” A humbling experience takes someone down a notch or two, or even further. Having awards and honors bestowed on you, in traditional terms, is anything but a humbling experience.

Have a usage query? Professor Garner has probably covered it in his newest edition of Garner’s Modern English Usage, 5th ed. (2022). Once you take a peek, you’ll fall into the world of usage as you delve deeper into the book.

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