retiring disposition; unobtrusiveness; bashfulness &c adj.; mauvaise
honte [Fr.]; blush, blushing; verecundity†; self-knowledge.
reserve, constraint; demureness &c adj.; blushing honors [Henry
VIII].
V. be modest &c adj.; retire, reserve oneself; give way to; draw in
one's horns &c 879; hide one's face.
keep private, keep in the background, keep one's distance; pursue
the noiseless tenor of one's way, do good by stealth and blush to find
it fame [Pope], hide one's light under a bushel, cast a sheep's eye.
Adj. modest, diffident; humble &c 879; timid, timorous, bashful; shy,
nervous, skittish, coy, sheepish, shamefaced, blushing, overmodest.
unpretending†, unpretentious; unobtrusive, unassuming,
unostentatious, unboastful†, unaspiring; poor in spirit.
out of countenance &c (humbled) 879.
reserved, constrained, demure.
Adv. humbly &c adj.; quietly, privately; without ceremony, without beat
of drum; sans fa
Phr. not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty [Romeo and Juliet]; thy
modesty's a candle to thy merit [Fielding].