unpretentious

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   not trying to appear more important, cultured, or impressive than one really is; modest and sincere

   Despite her fame, the scientist remained warm and unpretentious.

2. 2
   adj

   simple, restrained, or informal in style rather than showy or grand

   They chose an unpretentious cafe known for excellent regional food.

Formed from un- + pretentious. Pretentious developed from pretension and ultimately Latin praetendere ("stretch or put forward; claim"). Unpretentious rejects that sense of making an inflated claim; the older unpretending expresses the same modest, unaffected quality.

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