All 3 Uses of
unobtrusive
in
The Scarlet Letter
- It throws its unobtrusive tinge throughout the room, with a faint ruddiness upon the walls and ceiling, and a reflected gleam upon the polish of the furniture.†
p. 35.5 *unobtrusive = fitting in so as not to attract much attention or disturb
- Pearl, that wild and flighty little elf stole softly towards him, and taking his hand in the grasp of both her own, laid her cheek against it; a caress so tender, and withal so unobtrusive, that her mother, who was looking on, asked herself—"Is that my Pearl?"†
p. 107.3
- Not the less, however, came this importunately obtrusive sense of change.†
p. 202.5obtrusive = attracting undesired attention; or imposing on othersstandard prefix: Unobtrusive is encountered more than twice as commonly as any form of obtrusive without the prefix un-. The prefix "un-" in unobtrusive means not and reverses the meaning of obtrusive. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.