Both Uses
unobtrusive
in
The Fall of the House of Usher
(Auto-generated)
- repeated deeds of munificent yet unobtrusive charity
*unobtrusive = fitting in so as not to attract much attention
- The brother had been led to his resolution (so he told me) by consideration of the unusual character of the malady of the deceased, of certain obtrusive and eager inquiries on the part of her medical men, and of the remote and exposed situation of the burial-ground of the family.†
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.
Definitions:
-
(1)
(unobtrusive) fitting in so as not to attract much attention or disturb
- (2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)