unprepossessing

adjective

un·​pre·​pos·​sess·​ing ˌən-ˌprē-pə-ˈze-siŋ How to pronounce unprepossessing (audio)
 also  -ˈse-
: not tending to create a favorable impression : not prepossessing
an unprepossessing figure
an unprepossessing restaurant

Examples of unprepossessing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The artist himself, however, was rather more unprepossessing. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2023 The bishop has an amiable, unprepossessing manner, with a slight stoop and a twinkly smile. Nathaniel Rich Stacy Kranitz, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022 This crisis is apparent in casting the unprepossessing Krieps, who already creeped out Paul Thomas Anderson’s repellent Phantom Thread. Armond White, National Review, 13 Oct. 2021 Nothing can be more unprepossessing than a sea-anemone when contracted. Jessy Randall, Scientific American, 19 July 2021 Starring in these books was an unprepossessing intelligence officer named George Smiley. Tom Nolan, WSJ, 24 Dec. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unprepossessing was in 1790

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Cite this Entry

“Unprepossessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unprepossessing. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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