inconspicuous

UK/ˌɪŋkənˈspɪkjʉwəs/US/ˌɪn.kənˈspɪk.ju.əs/

adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,757 of 15,258neutral

Inconspicuous means not attracting any attention. An inconspicuous car, stay inconspicuous, inconspicuously placed.

It is the aim in surveillance, in security and in not wanting to be noticed at a party. It is a deliberate quality rather than an accident — something inconspicuous was arranged to be so. Note conspicuous, which is far commoner; and that the Latin means not able to be caught sight of, from specere, to look.

Definitions of inconspicuous

1adjectiveinconspicuousNot attracting any attention.C1
“The detective wore a plain grey coat so that he would look inconspicuous in the crowd.”
synonyms: unobtrusive, discreet

inconspicuous is a quality of not being noticed.

Where it comes from

Latin inconspicuus is in- plus conspicuus, from conspicere, to catch sight of — com plus specere, to look. Spectacle, inspect and species come from the same looking.

Latin
incōnspicuus
English, today
inconspicuous

Latin incōnspicuus. Equivalent to in- + conspicuous.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Ways of Looking

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inconspicuous in the wild

The Protura, or proturans, and sometimes nicknamed coneheads, are very small, soil-dwelling animals, so inconspicuous they were not noticed until the 20th century.
Protura
Posterns were often placed in concealed locations, allowing inconspicuous entrance and exit.
Postern
Military vehicles are almost always camouflaged, or at least painted in inconspicuous color(s).
Military vehicle
While other bridges in Central Park are inconspicuous, the Bow Bridge is made to stand out from its surroundings.
Bow Bridge (Central Park)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

conspicuous

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