Both Uses of
unobtrusive
in
The Mill on the Floss
- Mr. Tulliver felt very much as if the air had been cleared of obtrusive flies now the women were out of the room.†
Chpt 1.7 *obtrusive = 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.
- Playful discussions—sometimes serious ones—were going forward, in which both Stephen and Maggie revealed themselves, to the admiration of the gentle, unobtrusive Lucy; and it more than once crossed her mind what a charming quartet they should have through life when Maggie married Philip.†
Chpt 6.6unobtrusive = fitting in so as not to attract much attention or disturb