modest | The Australian Dictionary of Invisible Culture for Teachers

The Australian Dictionary of Invisible Culture for Teachers

modest

adjective: a kind of person (see more)

Someone (e.g. Peter) often thinks like this: I know I did something good. It is bad to say ‘I did something good’. If I say this, people can think something bad about me.

Because of this, Peter doesn’t say “I did something.”

At some times, people can say “I think Peter did something very good.”

Because of this, Peter says “It is not something very good.”

Note

This entry does not include the use of 'modest' as applied to quantities of things (e.g. a modest income, modest ambitions).

"He's not very modest, is he? He hardly stops talking about his grades."

"Anna's such an incredibly nice and bright woman and she is modest, but she shouldn't be. I think she's quite fantastic."

humble humility presuming and valuing perceived ‘shared ordinariness’tall poppy tall poppy syndrome big-noting yourself discouraging feelings of ‘specialness’proud (of something)

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