MODESTY • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Modesty

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/mˈɑdəsti/ Listen

noun

Modesty n.

The quality or state of being modest; that lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one's own worth and importance; absence of self-assertion, arrogance, and presumption; humility respecting one's own merit.

Natural delicacy or shame regarding personal charms and the sexual relation; purity of thought and manners; due regard for propriety in speech or action. "Her blush is guiltiness, not modesty."

Modesty piece, a narrow piece of lace worn by women over the bosom. (Obs.)

Synonyms: Bashfulness; humility; diffidence; shyness. See Bashfulness, and Humility.

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Etymology of 'Modesty'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Modesty" Quotes from Famous Books

... to continue lodging in the hotel. Attacked by a sudden modesty, the curiosity and smiles of the tourists and servants were annoying her. Besides, she wished to enjoy complete liberty in her love affairs. Her friend, who was like a mother to her, would facilitate her desire. The two would ...

— Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) - A Novel • Vicente Blasco Ibanez

... Christian dogma. Nor is it just to say that my criticism of it cannot be read to a mixed audience. That is the fault of the doctrine. So far as my words go, there is not a syllable to shock any but a prurient modesty. ...

— Flowers of Freethought - (First Series) • George W. Foote

... been carried to one of the ante-chambers, reclines on a couch of softest tapestry, a physician at one side, and Alice, bathing her temples with aromatic liquid, on the other. She presents a ravishing picture of delicacy, modesty, and simplicity,—of all that is calmly beautiful in woman. "I can scarcely account for it; but, she's coming to," says the man of medicine, looking on mechanically. Her white bosom swells gently, like ...

— Our World, or, The Slaveholders Daughter • F. Colburn Adams

... a handsome velvet or other dressy material for a dinner dress, and wears with it her rarest jewels. Good taste and modesty forbid too lavish a display of shoulders. As a rule, in our average social life, the unlined lace yoke and collar and lace sleeves are preferred for dinner wear, the decollete gown being reserved for ...

— Mother's Remedies - Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers - of the United States and Canada • T. J. Ritter

... the champagne standard. It would not be possible to slip unnoticed into your favourite little restaurant in Soho to take your simple chop, or to go in quest of that wonderful restaurant of Arne's of which "Aldebaran" keeps the secret. The modesty of Arne's would make you ...

— Pebbles on the Shore • Alpha of the Plough (Alfred George Gardiner)

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