Meaning & use
unassuming
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableapproving
Quiet and modest in manner, showing no wish to impress people or to be treated as more important than others.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: an unassuming man, or he is unassuming.
Patterns
- be unassuming about something
The scientist was an unassuming man who still cycled to the lab every morning.
She is unassuming about her success and never mentions the prize she won.
From the street, the restaurant looks unassuming, but the food is remarkable.
Word forms
| comparative | more unassuming |
|---|---|
| superlative | most unassuming |
Common combinations
- an unassuming manner
- He spoke in an unassuming manner that put the nervous students at ease.
- an unassuming man
- The hero of the village turned out to be an unassuming man who ran the bakery.
- remain unassuming
- Even after becoming famous, the singer managed to remain unassuming.
- an unassuming little place
- We had dinner at an unassuming little place near the harbor.
- unassuming charm
- The cottage has an unassuming charm that grows on you.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modest
- Modest is the everyday word for not boasting, while unassuming stresses a plain, low-key manner that does not draw attention.
- humble
- Humble can also suggest low rank or poor circumstances, whereas unassuming only describes how someone behaves.
- self-effacing
- Self-effacing implies actively keeping oneself in the background, which is a little more deliberate than being naturally unassuming.
- low-key
- Low-key is informal and can describe events or places as well as people, while unassuming is mostly used for people and their manner.
Opposites
Word family
- unassumingly adverb
- in a quiet, modest way
- unassumingness noun
- the quality of being modest and unshowy (rare)
- assume verb
- the root verb, meaning to suppose something or to take on a role
- assumption noun
- something accepted as true without proof
Commonly confused: unassuming or humble?
unassuming vs humble
Humble can mean lacking pride, but it also describes low status or simple surroundings: a humble home. Unassuming is only about manner.
Practice
Although she designed the new bridge, she is quiet and ___ and rarely mentions it.
Choose one answer.
Unassuming fits someone who does not seek credit. Flamboyant, overbearing and ostentatious all describe showy or domineering behavior, which contradicts rarely mentioning the achievement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unassuming”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.