unprepossessing

adjective

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

Examples of unprepossessing in a Sentence

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 Nothing can be more unprepossessing than a sea-anemone when contracted. — Jessy Randall, Scientific American, 19 July 2021 The artist himself, however, was rather more unprepossessing. — Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2023 Joe was an unprepossessing fellow. — Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025 Starring in these books was an unprepossessing intelligence officer named George Smiley. — Tom Nolan, WSJ, 24 Dec. 2020 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

Word History

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unprepossessing was in 1790

Rhymes for unprepossessing

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Browse Nearby Words

unprepossessed
unprepossessing
unprescient
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Cite this Entry

“Unprepossessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unprepossessing. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

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