Skip to main content
unaffected

unaffected

2 4.8
Natural and sincere, without pretending
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnəˈfɛktɪd/
translation icon : natural
  • Use your natural voice, speaking simply in an unaffected way.

Examples

  • She seemed to me beautiful, wise, and unaffected.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Cool, unaffected, and real.

    Blog text (26)
  • What does it mean to be unaffected in the theater?

  • I kissed her, said, "Fair enough" in what I hope was an unaffected manner, and went off to take care of things myself.

    Blog text (20)
  • She's crazy and fun and unaffected by the world.

  • She was modest and unaffected, reserved but not cool.

    Academic text (2009)
  • He wondered at Doris's unaffected calm.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • She became, like them, unaffected, spontaneous, and open to carefree joy.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Cheerfully unaffected.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • She spoke in an unaffected manner, making everyone feel at ease.

Synonyms

artless
vsunaffected
3 6.0

Simple and honest in a natural way, not pretending

highlights a natural, sincere manner free from pretence
unselfconscious
vsunaffected
2 7.0

Not worried about how you look and acting naturally with other people

focuses on sincere, intentional naturalness rather than mere lack of self-awareness

Antonyms

267 3.6

Made by people rather than by nature, often as a copy of something natural

pretentious
  • Offensive
74 7.3

Trying to seem more important or clever than you really are

7.5

Not natural or sincere and done to impress others

How Natural

natural
660 1.0
genuine
156 3.2
unaffected
2 4.8
affected
7.5

Surface Forms

unaffected positive

Morphology

unaffected = affected (transparent) = un + affect + ed

Direct negation of the adjective 'affected' (pretentious/artificial), so learners who know that sense of 'affected' can derive 'unaffected' as 'natural/sincere'.

Etymology

Unaffected is made of un- 'not' plus affected, and in this use affected means 'showing a false manner' or 'trying to impress'. A helpful way to remember is that unaffected means 'not pretending', so it describes someone who is natural and sincere.