Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Showing patience and humility; gentle.
- adjective Easily imposed on; submissive.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make meek; soften; render mild, pliant, or submissive; humble or bring low.
- To submit; become meek.
- Gentle or mild of temper; self-controlled and gentle; not easily provoked or irritated; forbearing under injury or annoyance.
- Pliant; yielding; submissive.
- Humble; unpretentious.
- = Syn. 1. Mild, etc. (see
gentle ), humble, lowly.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To make meek; to nurture in gentleness and humility.
- adjective Mild of temper; not easily provoked or orritated; patient under injuries; not vain, or haughty, or resentful; forbearing; submissive.
- adjective Evincing mildness of temper, or patience; characterized by mildness or patience
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Humble ,modest ,meager , orself -effacing . - adjective
Submissive , despirited, or of broken will. - verb US (of horses) To
tame ; tobreak .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective very docile
- adjective evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant
- adjective humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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'_From that placid aspect and meek regard, _' on the ground that; '_meek regard_ conveys no new idea to _placid aspect_.'
Note Book of an English Opium-Eater Thomas De Quincey 1822
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They patronized the university and the churches, and the pastors especially bowed at their knees in meek subservience. 5
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Another comment ... meek is not the same as week, the person who reminds you constantly of their toughness is usually not so tough, and tearing things apart is much easier than building things back up.
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And they will get just as violent as it takes, verbally and otherwise, to ensure that they remain meek enough to inherit whatever is left of the earth.
Sound Politics: Jeff Jacoby In P-I On "Sudden Jihad Syndrome" In Seattle 2006
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"Thar ain't any way of cultivatin 'a proud natur when you're born meek, is thar?" inquired his son.
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Even in the Psalm from which these words are taken the promise to the meek is not held forth as an arbitrary reward, but as having a kind of natural fulfilment.
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Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth -- This promise to the meek is but a repetition of Ps 37: 11; only the word which our
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She was trembling, but though there was no stubbornness in her countenance, the expression meek and humble, she made no movement toward obeying her father's order.
Elsie Dinsmore Martha Finley 1868
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Meanwhile, as becomes us, let us bow our heads in meek submission to the divine will!
Memorial Sermons 1865
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"Behold thy king cometh, meek," is most beautifully true here and now.
gangerh commented on the word meek
As in 'The meek shall inherit the earth, after the rest of us have done with it.'
February 11, 2008
jmjarmstrong commented on the word meek
JM reckons it sometimes seems that the meek shall inherit the hurt.
August 26, 2011