unglamourous
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective: * Lacking glamour, excitement, or appeal; ordinary, dull, or practical in a way that is not attractive or interesting. It describes something that is mundane, workaday, or fails to capture the imagination or admiration typically associated with style, luxury, or adventure.
Usage and Examples
The adjective unglamourous is used to describe nouns, typically jobs, tasks, places, or lifestyles. It emphasizes the contrast between a romanticized or idealized perception and a much more mundane reality.
Describing a job or task:
- The reality of being a scientist involves long hours of unglamourous laboratory work.
- Her unglamourous duties included filing paperwork and making coffee.
Describing a place or lifestyle:
- They live in an unglamourous but affordable part of the city.
- The unglamourous truth of travel is dealing with delayed flights and lost luggage.
Advanced Usage and Nuance
- Contrast with Perception: The word is often used to highlight the difference between how something is perceived and its true nature.
- Behind the glamorous fashion show is the unglamourous chaos of backstage preparations.
- Implied Value: While it means "not glamorous," it can sometimes carry an implicit acknowledgment of the necessary, hard, or honest work involved, even if it's not celebrated.
- He took the unglamourous but steady job to support his family.
Variants and Related Words
- Unglamorous (adj.): This is an equally correct and common alternative spelling. Both "unglamourous" and "unglamorous" are acceptable.
- Glamourous/Glamorous (adj.): The direct antonym, meaning full of glamour; fascinatingly attractive, exciting, or alluring.
- Glamour/Glamor (n.): The attractive or exciting quality that makes certain people or things seem special or desirable.
Synonyms
- Uninspiring
- Humdrum
- Mundane
- Drab
- Workaday
- Prosaic
Antonyms
- Glamourous/Glamorous
- Exciting
- Alluring
- Glam
- Chic
- Stylish
Related Phrases and Idioms
- The nitty-gritty: The most important aspects or practical details of a matter, which are often unglamourous.
- After the big idea, we have to get down to the unglamourous nitty-gritty of planning.
- To roll up one's sleeves: To prepare for hard work, often of an unglamourous kind.
- Success requires being willing to roll up your sleeves and do the unglamourous tasks.
Adjective
- not challenging; dull and lacking excitement
- an unglamorous job greasing engines