inconspicuous

[in-kuhn-spik-yoo-uhs]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inconspicuous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not conspicuous, noticeable, or prominent.

RELATED WORDS

modestly, secretly, surreptitiously

Nearby words

Origin of inconspicuous

From the Latin word inconspicuus, dating back to 1615–25. See in-³, conspicuous

SYNONYMS FOR inconspicuous

unnoticeable, unobtrusive, unostentatious.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inconspicuous ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsin·con·spic·u·ous·ly, adverbin·con·spic·u·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for inconspicuously

Their strategy, were they to try to board a plane with a weapon, would be to dress as inconspicuously as possible.
Hey, That's My Line|Ben Greenman|November 16, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Between a couple of rows of lockers, a youth sat in an inconspicuously placed chair.
The Best Made Plans|Everett B. Cole
In a moment we were out of doors, walking as inconspicuously as possible near the wall.
Sea and Sardinia|D. H. Lawrence
He disappeared in the scrub as inconspicuously as a rat, while two of the tinklers came up the slope from the waterside.
Huntingtower|John Buchan

Bell inconspicuously shifted a revolver to the outer pocket of his flying suit.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930|Various
She dresses daintily and inconspicuously—effaces herself, in fact, as much in this exercise as she does in all public places.
Social Life|Maud C. Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for inconspicuously

inconspicuous

adjective

not easily noticed or seen; not prominent or striking

Derived Formsinconspicuously, adverbinconspicuousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for inconspicuously

inconspicuous

adj.

1620s, "invisible," from Late Latin inconspicuus, from in- "not, opposite of, without" (see in- (1)) + Latin conspicuus (see conspicuous). Weakened sense of "not readily seen or noticed" first recorded 1828. Related: Inconspicuously; inconspicuousness.