low-key
Americanadjective
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of reduced intensity; restrained; understated.
Judicial elections used to be low-key affairs, attracting little campaign spending.
-
(of a photograph) having chiefly dark tones, usually with little tonal contrast (distinguished from high-key).
adverb
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
having a low intensity or tone
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restrained, subdued, or understated
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(of a photograph, painting, etc) having a predominance of dark grey tones or dark colours with few highlights Compare high-key
Usage
What else does low-key mean? Low-key can variously mean "quiet," "restrained," "moderate," or "easygoing." It can also behave as an adverb meaning "of low or moderate intensity." Like doing something, but in a "chill" way. For instance: We're having a party at my place but keeping it low-key so the neighbors don't complain.
Etymology
Origin of low-key
First recorded in 1890–95
Explanation
Something low-key is quiet or understated. A low-key wedding might be held in a friend's backyard, with a potluck reception — it's informal, small, and subdued. A person who's low-key is modest and soft spoken, and a low-key restaurant is comfortable and unpretentious. You might prefer your family's low-key way of celebrating birthdays (a cake and a few gifts) to the way your best friend's family does it (hiring caterers, clowns, magicians, and a band). Low-key can also mean "muted in color," like the low-key tones in your favorite painting.
Vocabulary lists containing low-key
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The figure of £390m for this window isn't hugely down on previous winters, with January always more low key than the summer as it is a notoriously difficult time for clubs to recruit effectively.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026
The game looks pretty low key, although it was recently banned in Carmel-by-the-Sea because of all the racket.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026
“The F.B.I. intends for the execution of the warrant to be handled in a professional, low key manner,” he wrote, “and to be mindful of the optics of the search.”
From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2024
"Before 2016, people thought visits here should be low key," says Chen Fang-Yu.
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2024
Together we sing the first verse in a low key, just as we’ve practiced.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
