Humblebrag meaning: a boast dressed as a complaint
A humblebrag is a boast made to sound like a complaint or like modesty, such as "so tired after my third promotion this year". The word took off on Twitter in 2010, and LinkedIn has kept it busy ever since.
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What humblebrag means
A boast in a complaint
A humblebrag hides a boast inside a complaint or a show of false modesty. It’s also written as two words, humble brag. It comes in two kinds:
- A mock complaint grumbles about something most people would want, like jet lag after flying out to give a conference keynote.
- False modesty means acting humble about a win, as in “humbled to be named” or “honored to be asked”.
Humblebrag examples at work
Offices are full of humblebrags, because a straight boast sounds worse than a disguised one:
- “Sorry for the slow replies, the CEO keeps pulling me into things.”
- “My manager read my report aloud at the board meeting. So embarrassing.”
- In an interview: “My biggest weakness is that I care too much.”
Saying it plainly
A straight brag is shorter and easier to answer. “I got promoted” gets congratulations, while “Ugh, the promotion means a longer commute” gets a private eye-roll. If the news is good, say it as news, once.
Humblebrag translated
On LinkedIn, a boast opens with “Humbled to announce”, which translates to proud to announce. “I wasn’t going to post this, but” means it was always going to be posted. Our LinkedIn speak translator turns posts like these back into plain English, and what comes out is usually one short sentence.
Humblebrag, decoded
Humblebrags at review time
The annual self-review is a humblebrag with a form attached. “My weakness is that I take on too much for the team” is a boast about being a team player, filed under development areas.
In the out-of-office
The conference auto-reply is a humblebrag. All it needs to say is when you’ll be back. “I’m away speaking at a summit in Lisbon” makes sure everyone who emails you hears that you’re a speaker, and that it’s in Lisbon.
In the meeting
Spoken humblebrags start with an apology: “Sorry, I’ve had two hours’ sleep, the launch went better than expected.” The apology is never for anything that went wrong.
Where humblebrag comes from
A Twitter account in 2010
Humblebrag is humble plus brag. The word is credited to Harris Wittels, a comedy writer and producer on Parks and Recreation. In 2010 he started the @Humblebrag Twitter account to repost examples, many from celebrities. Two years later he put them in a book.
One dictionary dates the word earlier than 2010, so he may have popularized it rather than invented it.
The most useful word of 2011
The American Dialect Society named humblebrag the most useful word of 2011. It was also a nominee for word of the year, which went to occupy.
A LinkedIn post with humblebrag in it
LinkedIn post, Monday 5:04 am
Not to
humblebragboast, but I was too busy closing our biggest quarter ever to post about it sooner. Grateful to the team who carried me there.
Humblebrag in a sentence
Another humblebrag from Chris about his 5 am routine.
So tired after closing our biggest deal ever. Sorry for the humblebrag.
Karolina's humblebrag about being too busy to accept another award got 900 likes.
Asked for his biggest weakness, the candidate said he cares too much. The panel scored it as a humblebrag.
Questions about humblebrag
What is an example of humble bragging?
"Exhausted from all the travel since the promotion" is one. It complains about the travel so it can mention the promotion. The interview answer "I care too much about getting things right" works the same way.
What does "humblebragging" mean in slang?
In slang, humblebragging means showing off while pretending not to. That covers mock complaints about good news and false modesty about wins. People use the word most for social media posts.
What is another word for humblebrag?
False modesty is the closest, and it's the phrase in the subtitle of the 2012 book of humblebrags. Backhanded boast and fishing for compliments mean nearly the same.
Who coined the term humblebrag?
It's credited to Harris Wittels, a writer on Parks and Recreation, who started a Twitter account called @Humblebrag in 2010 to collect examples. One dictionary dates the word to before that, so he may have made it famous rather than invented it.
Why do people humblebrag?
People humblebrag to tell others about something they're proud of without sounding proud. A straight boast sounds worse, so a complaint or a show of embarrassment goes on top as cover. The cover is thin: a plain "I got promoted" gets congratulations, and the disguised version gets an eye-roll.