low-key
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English
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Low-key_cat.jpg/220px-Low-key_cat.jpg)
Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈləʊki/, /ˌləʊˈkiː/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈloʊˈki/, /ˌloʊˈki/, (occasionally) /ˈloʊki/
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Homophone: Loki (in some pronunciations)
- Rhymes: -əʊki
Adjective
[edit]low-key (comparative more low-key, superlative most low-key)
- (art, photography) Dark; characterized by dark tones and muted colors. [from 19th c.]
- 1942 November, Victor Keppler, “Key to Good Pictures”, in Popular Photography, →ISSN, page 98:
- The classic example of low key photography is a black cat in a coal cellar. […] The most popular use of low-key photography is in making portraits of celebrities or theatrical personalities. These people demand either dignity or drama, and this type of lightning is appropriate for both.
- (by extension) Restrained, subtle, not trying to attract attention. [from 20th c.]
- Antonyms: see Thesaurus:gaudy
- She deserves an Oscar for her low-key performance in that movie.
- 2017 November 14, Phil McNulty, “England 0-0 Brazil”, in BBC News[2]:
- From the Samba band and colourfully-clad dancers that made a lap of Wembley before kick-off - even prompting some neat moves from one or two Brazilian journalists - to the roars of delight every time Neymar got on the ball, it was still a night that contained entertainment despite the increasingly low-key fare on the pitch.
- 2023 October 18, Chris Howe, “Network News: Headbolt Lane station opens on Merseyrail”, in RAIL, number 994, page 22:
- The relatively low-key opening was attended by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, who declared "We have a brand-new station serviced with brand-new lines and new publicly owned trains.
Translations
[edit]Restrained, subtle
Adverb
[edit]low-key (comparative more low-key, superlative most low-key)
- (chiefly Canada, US, colloquial) Kind of.
- 2015, Lady Onyxx, Started From The Top Now I'm Here 3, page 81:
- I'm low key salty about the way that nigga did you but it seems like he still cares about you.
- 2018, Rachel Vincent, Strange New World:
- Before I open the messages, I disable the activity notification so no one will know I'm low-key obsessed with a party I didn't get to attend.
- (slang) In a low-key or surreptitious manner; secretively; understatedly; on the down-low.
- Synonym: furtively
Further reading
[edit]low-key lighting on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “low-key”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “low-key”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- “low-key”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
- “low-key”, in Collins English Dictionary.
Anagrams
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