unattractive en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ənəˈt͡ʃɹæktɪv/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English attractive English unattractive From un- + attractive.
Meanings
-
Not handsome or beautiful or appealing.
All three parallel valleys of the Llynvi, Garw and Ogmore are much the same in physical character: the lower reaches are wooded and not unattractive, but as the railway climbs on ever-steepening grades, the hills on either hand grow barer and closer together, while in all respects the scene becomes more sombre, with the terraced, slate-roofed colliery towns and the road, railway and river all struggling for space in the narrowing defiles.
1955 July, D. S. Barrie, “Railways of the Bridgend District”, in Railway Magazine, page 449:
-
Lacking the power to attract interest.
Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:In light of the similarities of this word to siṡáya etc. and their close semantic proximity, it is unattractive to separate these two words.
2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 192:In Britain, nearly 2,500 steam locomotives were built, 999 to new designs. Although the latter were modern, they were still labour-intensive to man and maintain, during a period of full employment when working for poor pay in the dirty railway environment was unattractive.
2023 March 8, David Clough, “The long road that led to Beeching”, in RAIL, number 978, page 39:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more unattractive | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most unattractive | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
unattractiveness · unattractively
Translations (36)
ga mítharraingteach (lacking the power to attract interest) · pdt eizhich (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · hy տգեղ (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · ru невы́годный (lacking the power to attract interest) · fi epämiellyttävä (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · hy ժուժկալ (lacking the power to attract interest) · ga míthaitneamhach (lacking the power to attract interest) · la invenustus (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · sh rúžan (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · sv ful (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · fr inattrayant (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · gv neuchleaynagh (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · de üsselig (lacking the power to attract interest) · nl onaantrekkelijk (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · es inatrayente (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · mk одбивен (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · is óaðlaðandi (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · es inatractivo (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · bg грозен (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · ga míofar (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · ru непригля́дный (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · sv oattraktiv (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · bg непривлекателен (lacking the power to attract interest) · sh ру́жан (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · pl nieatrakcyjny (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · de unschön (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · uk негарний (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · ru стрёмный (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · lv neglīts (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · ga gránna (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · th หน้าเน่า (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · ga míghnaíúil (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · ru неинтере́сный (not handsome or beautiful or appealing) · it sconveniente (lacking the power to attract interest) · pl nieatrakcyjny (lacking the power to attract interest) · th ขี้เหร่ (not handsome or beautiful or appealing)