unobtrusive
/ˌʌnəbˈtɹusɪv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.65 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Not obtrusive; not blatant or noticeable; discreet, inconspicuous.
Example Sentences
- "Ye Quietiſts, in Homage to the Skies! / Serene! of ſoft Addreſs! vvho mildly make / An unobtruſive Tender of your Hearts, / Abhorring Violence!"
- "[T]hey were not the spoiled children of affectation and refinement, but a bold, vigorous, independent race of thinkers, with prodigious strength and energy, with none but natural grace, and heartfelt unobtrusive delicacy."
- "Like some poor devils ashore that happen to know an irascible great man, they make distant unobtrusive salutations to him in the street, lest if they pursued the acquaintance further, they might receive a summary thump for their presumption."
- "Behind an unobtrusive iron door in Dalston decorated with an ever-changing graffiti skin, lies a staircase leading down to a concrete bunker dating from the second world war."
- "This unobtrusive device helps millions of Americans sleep and concentrate by hushing the world around them."
- "The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to three scientists whose work harnessed the power of molecular interaction and introduced new, unobtrusive ways of studying the natural world."
Etymology
Word Breakdown
- Root: *trewd-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌʌnəbˈtɹusɪv/
- British English: /(ˌ)ʌnəbˈtɹuːsɪv/
Inflected Forms
more unobtrusive (comparative)
most unobtrusive (superlative)