Key Difference – Humble vs Humility
Humble and humility are two words that confuse many people since they have similar meanings. Both humility and humble refer to having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s importance. The difference between these two words lies in their grammatical categories. Humble is an adjective whereas humility is a noun. This is the key difference between humble and humility. It is also important to note that the word humble also has other meanings in addition to this reference to modesty or humility.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What Does Humility Mean
3. What Does Humble Mean
4. Side by Side Comparison – Humble vs Humility
5. Summary
What Does Humility Mean?
Humility refers to being modest or having a low view of one’s own importance. It also refers to freedom from pride and arrogance. Thus, humility is the exact opposite of pride. Humility helps a person to be not overly confident of himself or herself. It also allows him or her to recognize and accept his or her flaws. Thus, humility is a good quality which helps a person to be strong.
The term humility is a noun. It always refers to a quality of being modest or having a low view of one’s importance. But, it cannot be directly used to describe a person who has this quality. You can understand how this word can be used in a sentence by looking at the following example sentences.
The widowed queen accepted her new position with humility.
He accepted the award with humility and thanked his fans.
The arrogant old man has never learned the importance of humility.
She was a woman of modesty and humility.
When they suddenly became rich, she lost her humility and treated old friends with contempt.
Figure 1: Quote about humility
What Does Humble Mean?
Humble also refers to having or showing a low view of one’s importance. However, this is an adjective, unlike humility, which is a noun. Thus, the difference between humble and humility is the way they are used in a sentence. Humble can be always used directly to describe a person or his views. The following sentences will give you an idea about how this adjective can be used in a sentence.
She remained modest and humble despite all her achievements.
He offered her humble apologies.
We were unable to ignore his humble suggestion.
He was a modest and humble old man; no one could ever guess that he was a former president of the country.
The word humble can also mean insignificant or unpretentious. For example, humble can used to refer to a low or inferior position, rank or background of a person.
He came from a humble, underprivileged background.
She never forgot her humble beginnings.
Figure 2: Example Sentence – She remained humble and modest despite all her great achievements.
What is the difference between Humble and Humility?
Humble vs Humility |
|
| Humble refers to having or showing a low view of one’s importance. | Humility refers to the quality of having a low view of one’s importance. |
| Strength | |
| Humble is an adjective. | Humility is a noun. |
| Use | |
| Humility refers to a quality. | Humble can be directly used to describe a person. |
| Alternative Meanings | |
| Humility does not have another meaning. | Humble can also refer to low social, administrative or political rank. |
Summary – Humble vs Humility
Both humble and humility refer to having a low or modest estimate of one’s own importance. This is the opposite of arrogance and pride. The main difference between humble and humility is their grammatical category; humble is an adjective whereas humility noun. Thus, humility always refers to a quality whereas humble refers to the thing or person that is being modest.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less” by Ron Mader (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “387281” (Public Domain) via Pixabay