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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 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

Outwardly unassuming and privately acerbic, Martin Gilmour teaches at a second-rate English university that, in his words, “tended to attract the stupid rich.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It can make an unassuming desk worker appear daring and athletic—not to mention comfortable in elite social circles.

From The Wall Street Journal

Quiet, unassuming, even shy, particularly in public, McSweeney was known for being obsessed by winning, constantly fearful of complacency and ever aware of Labour's track record of losing far more elections than it wins.

From BBC

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.