unpretentious.

Not trying to seem grander, more sophisticated, or more important than is warranted.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• an unpretentious manner
• an unpretentious meal

On the page

The unpretentious meal was prepared with more care than the elaborate banquet.

Her unpretentious manner let the younger visitors speak without rehearsing their words.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more unpretentious; superlative most unpretentious where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.