unobtrusively

English

WOTD – 24 December 2009

Etymology

unobtrusive +‎ -ly

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌʌn.əbˈtɹuː.sɪv.li/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adverb

unobtrusively (comparative more unobtrusively, superlative most unobtrusively)

1. In an unobtrusive manner; in a manner that is not noticeable or blatant.
   • 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, Bulldog Drummond Chapter 1

     He felt not the slightest doubt in his mind that this was the girl who had written him, and, having given an order to the waiter, he started to study her face as unobtrusively as possible.

Synonyms

• (in an unobtrusive manner): inconspicuously, subtly

Related terms

• obtrusive
• unobtrusive
• unobtrusiveness

Translations

in a manner that is not noticeable or blatant

• Finnish: vaatimattomasti, hienovaraisesti
• French: discrètement (fr), en catimini (fr), en douce (fr), en cachette (fr)
• Hungarian: feltűnés nélkül, diszkréten
• Italian: discretamente (it), alla chetichella (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: dyskretnie
• Russian: ненавязчиво (ru) (nenavjazčivo)
• Spanish: discretamente (es), con reserva, de callado, callandito, a la chita callando
• Turkish: sessiz sedasız (tr), çaktırmadan (tr)