Literary notes about unpretentious (AI summary)
In literature, the word "unpretentious" is employed to evoke a sense of simplicity and sincerity, whether describing an object, a setting, or even a character’s demeanor. Authors use it to depict modest shops or houses that possess a quiet charm without ostentation (as in [1] and [2]), and to characterize individuals who embody understated elegance and directness (seen in [3] and [4]). The term frequently appears in portrayals of architecture and landscapes, emphasizing functional, unadorned beauty ([5] and [6]), while it also colors descriptions of personal attributes and lifestyles that eschew extravagance in favor of genuine, unassuming quality ([7] and [8]).
- "We pride ourselves on not keeping an ordinary shop, but a most unpretentious one, as you see."
— from The Pleasant Street Partnership: A Neighborhood Story by Mary Finley Leonard - It was just a simple, unpretentious house, set about with big trees, encircled in meadow and field rich with the promise of harvest.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - If anyone observed the unpretentious master and myself as we walked away from the crowded pavement, the onlooker surely suspected us of intoxication.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Even I, unpretentious, plain Elizabeth Fairleigh,—but no matter."
— from Dreams and Dream Stories by Anna Bonus Kingsford - The architecture of San Francisco was, in early days, simple and unpretentious, befitting the modest aspirations of a trading and mining town.
— from The Heart Line: A Drama of San Francisco by Gelett Burgess - The White House is a two-storied mansion, very unpretentious, standing in pretty grounds.
— from Jonathan and His Continent: Rambles Through American Society by Jack Allyn - The elders of the church liked him because he was quiet and unpretentious and Mrs. White, the banker's wife, thought him scholarly and refined.
— from Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life by Sherwood Anderson - All the really great people I have ever met are unpretentious and absolutely charming to work with.
— from Confessions of an Opera Singer by Kathleen Howard