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Synonyms

unassuming

American  
[uhn-uh-soo-ming] / ˌʌn əˈsu mɪŋ /

adjective

  1. modest; unpretentious.

unassuming British  
/ ˌʌnəˈsjuːmɪŋ /

adjective

  1. modest or unpretentious

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • unassumingly adverb
  • unassumingness noun

Etymology

Origin of unassuming

First recorded in 1720–30; un- 1 + assuming

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s unassuming at first due to its sheer simplicity.

From Salon

Maybe Yamamoto’s unassuming everyman act is just that good?

From Los Angeles Times

Last June, Naomi Welikala noticed a line curving around the block of her local American Legion, an unassuming building that rarely invited commotion.

From Los Angeles Times

It is currently a large, unassuming patch of farmland in East Ayrshire - but within years it could be one of the largest artificial intelligence data centres on Earth.

From BBC

The modest brown house on a quiet, unassuming street was cordoned-off with police tape.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.