down-to-earth

down–to–earth

adjective

Definition of DOWN-TO-EARTH

1

not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness <we were all impressed by how down-to-earth the movie star turned out to be>

Synonyms demure, down-to-earth, lowly, meek, modest, unassuming, unpretentious

Related Words acquiescent, compliant, deferential, resigned, submissive, unaggressive, unassertive, yielding; cowering, cringing, shrinking; ingenuous, naive (or naïve), plain, simple, unaffected; bashful, diffident, introverted, mousy (or mousey), overmodest, passive, quiet, reserved, retiring, sheepish, shy, subdued, timid, unobtrusive; aw-shucks, self-deprecating, self-deprecatory, self-effacing

Near Antonyms aggressive, assertive, audacious, bold, brash, brassy, cheeky, forward, impertinent, impudent, saucy; cocksure, cocky, confident, hubristic, overconfident, self-confident; egocentric, egoistic (also egoistical), narcissistic, prideful, self-affected, self-centered, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-congratulatory, self-contented, self-engrossed, self-important, self-obsessed, self-pleased, self-satisfied, smug, stuck-up, swelled-headed; boastful, bombastic, braggy, swaggering, vain, vainglorious; condescending, disdainful, dominant, dominating, domineering, magisterial, overbearing, patronizing, pontificating; flamboyant, ostentatious, showy; extroverted (also extraverted), immodest, outgoing, uninhibited, unreserved

Antonyms arrogant, bumptious, chesty, conceited, egotistic (or egotistical), fastuous, haughty, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, hoity-toity, huffish, huffy, imperious, lordly, overweening, peremptory, pompous, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppity

2

willing to see things as they really are and deal with them sensibly <a down-to-earth guidance counselor who is frank in telling students which colleges they're likely to get into>

Synonyms down-to-earth, earthy, hardheaded, matter-of-fact, practical, pragmatic (also pragmatical)

Related Words idealless, philistine, utilitarian; commonsensical, grounded, levelheaded, logical, no-nonsense, rational, reasonable, sane, sensible, sober, sobersided, sound; bottom-line, hard, hard-boiled, hard-edged, tough-minded, unromantic, unsentimental; cynical, disillusioned, misanthropic, pessimistic; distrustful, mistrustful, skeptical, suspicious

Near Antonyms fanciful, fantastic (also fantastical), imaginative; romantic, sentimental; cheerful, optimistic, rose-colored; trustful, trusting, unsuspicious; half-baked, illogical, insane, irrational, unreasonable; theoretical (also theoretic)

Antonyms blue-sky, idealistic, impractical, unrealistic, utopian, visionary

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