1
as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a tycoon who struggled all his life to overcome his lowly origins
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in meek
not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness
the nuns at the convent regard themselves as lowly servants of the Lord
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in humbly
in a manner showing no signs of pride or self-assertion
lowly bowing before his king, he accepted his knighthood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lowly
Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
After two consecutive wins on the road, the Bears are 3-2 and host the lowly New Orleans Saints (1-5) on Sunday.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 1 Sep. 2025
After losing to lowly Northern Illinois in the second game, Notre Dame won its final 10 regular season games against a weak slate of teams before winning three in a row in the postseason against Indiana, Georgia and Penn State.
—Tim Casey, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lowly
Adjective
Only the lowly New York Jets — the Dolphins’ sole victory — have a worse record.
—Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
After two consecutive wins on the road, the Bears are 3-2 and host the lowly New Orleans Saints (1-5) on Sunday.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Adverb
When opportunities arise, whether lowly paid or not, we’re often left with no other choice than to take the role that pays meagerly.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 1 Sep. 2025
After losing to lowly Northern Illinois in the second game, Notre Dame won its final 10 regular season games against a weak slate of teams before winning three in a row in the postseason against Indiana, Georgia and Penn State.
—Tim Casey, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lowly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lowly
Adjective
-
The organization’s Green Heart Project, which studies the impact of better air quality on heart disease through urban greening, has found that increasing the number of trees and shrubs in an area can create lower levels of a blood marker associated with inflammation.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Here is Carreras profiting from that exact ploy while playing for Benfica against Barcelona in the Champions League last season, sneaking forward on the far side before receiving the switch and hammering a low cross into striker Vangelis Pavlidis to score.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Tessa Thompson stars as the willful heroine, married to a rather meek academic, George Tesman (Tom Bateman), who’s angling for an important university position.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Employment growth is meek, but the labor market is holding steady.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
22 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
While skiing in the Dolomites, I was humbly reminded that most hotel rooms in Italy don’t have coffee makers.—
Katie Jackson,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Greenidge puts her aims even more humbly.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
These once-humble activities are reclaiming their place not as quaint relics, but as powerful tools for well-being.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Ready to let the humble-yet-mighty brown work its magic in your wardrobe this fall?—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
American's stock is down 20% this year through Friday's close, compared with modest gains posted by Delta and United.—
Leslie Josephs,
CNBC,
26 Oct. 2025
-
The smaller, bronze set found at Tunnug 1 indicates a modest debut, particularly since the style would later become strongly associated with gold.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
In other words, students prepare for citizenship in a disputatious society by practicing the civic arts—by asserting and advocating for their views—not by meekly absorbing lessons from their instructors.—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Well, after years of stuttering, pausing, juddering, waiting for the goalkeeper to dive and then rolling spot kicks meekly into the net, Nick Woltemade may have just reversed the trend.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Across the lake, on the plebeian side, up the shoreline a mile or so, in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, stand twin 32-story towers dubbed Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The Jets recently saw their local deliveries plummet to an ignoble 4.5 rating, which translates to a meager 350,530 Gang Green households tuning in to WBCS-2.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Its central character, Chevy Chase's Clark W. Griswold, is a dopey dad trying to keep it together amid an escalating series of exasperating frustrations and ignoble temptations.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lowly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lowly. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share