Modest
Modest adjective - Not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness.
Usage example: appealingly modest about her success in the fashion industry
Vain
Vain adjective - Having too high an opinion of oneself.
Usage example: a man so vain that he spent hours admiring himself in the mirror
Both words in one sentence
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Small Name, Big Ego: Leo is incredibly vain about his modest success as an author and in getting a television interview.
Source: Film / What About Bob? -
Normally, Superheroes are modest, and failing that at least they're rarely vain.
Source: Smug Super - They are sisters raised together and given equal blessing by Dronor, but Zarracka is vain and self-centered while Daniar is Modest Royalty and selfless.
Source: Evil Counterpart / Literature
Cite this Source
Vain and Modest. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/modest/vain
Modest & Vain. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/modest/vain>.
Vain or Modest. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/modest/vain.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "modest" and "vain" have occurred on timeline