false modesty
noun [U]Definition
› behaviour in which a person pretends to have a low opinion of their own abilities or achievements: He shows great pride in his work and has no false modesty about his success.Faking and pretending
(Definition of false modesty noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse related topics
You are looking at an entry to do with Faking & pretending, but you might be interested in these topics from the Honesty and dishonesty topic area:
- Affected & insincere
- Blunt and direct in speech & behaviour
- Cheating & tricking
- Dishonest
- Dishonest people
- Disloyalty, betrayal & treason
- Honesty, openness & sincerity
- Lies, lying & hypocrisy
- Loyal, faithful & dependable
- Naive & trusting
- Plotting & trapping
- Praising insincerely or too eagerly
- Sly & devious
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Synonyms and related words:
- a wolf in sheep's clothing idiom
- affect verb (PRETEND)
- assume verb (PRETEND TO HAVE)
- believe verb
- changeling noun
- charlatan noun
- fake verb (FEELING/ILLNESS)
- fake verb (OBJECT)
- false adjective (NOT TRUE)
- falsify verb
- feign verb
- masquerade as sb/sth phrasal verb
- massage verb (FACTS/NUMBERS)
- pass sth/sb off as sth/sb phrasal verb
- phoney adjective
- play-acting noun
- purport verb
- put sth on phrasal verb (PRETEND)
- quackery noun
- simulate verb
Topic:
Faking & pretending
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