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unintimidating

unintimidating

4.1
A person or thing that people can approach without feeling scared
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnɪnˈtɪmɪˌdeɪtɪŋ/
translation icon : acogedor
  • The teacher has an unintimidating approach that makes students feel comfortable asking questions.

Examples

  • It wouldn't do for him to appear unintimidating.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • A moment later, the man himself spun off from the group and walked directly to Trevor, looking natural, friendly, and unintimidating somehow.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The user-friendly design of the app is unintimidating for new users who are not tech-savvy.

  • At the workshop, the unintimidating environment encouraged participants to share their ideas freely.

Synonyms

accommodating
vsunintimidating
17 4.8

Willing to help others and change plans for them

is passive in avoiding fear rather than actively helping or adapting
nonthreatening
vsunintimidating
4 3.8

Not likely to make someone feel afraid or unsafe

is easy and comfortable to approach or deal with in interaction
unintrusive
vsunintimidating
1 5.8

Not attracting attention or getting in the way

is more about being easy to approach and comfortable to deal with
nonpredatory
vsunintimidating
5.3

Not trying to harm or unfairly take advantage of others

is about being approachable and not making people feel threatened
nonabrasive
vsunintimidating
3.9

Gentle in manner and tone, not likely to offend

is focused on preventing fear or threat rather than merely avoiding offense

Antonyms

93 5.3

Making someone feel afraid, nervous, or less confident

65 3.6

Showing that something bad or dangerous may happen

How Intimidating

threatening
65 3.6
intimidating
93 5.3
unintimidating
4.1
welcoming
66 1.0

Surface Forms

unintimidating positive

Morphology

unintimidating = intimidating (transparent) = un + intimidate + ing

The adjective is formed by adding the productive negative prefix 'un-' to 'intimidating', yielding a straightforward opposite meaning.

Etymology

Unintimidating comes from the prefix un- meaning 'not' and the root timid meaning 'fearful', so it literally says 'not making someone feel afraid'. Think of it as the opposite of intimidate, which means 'to make someone feel timid', so an unintimidating person is easy to approach.