• Today's Word

Unprepossessing

un-pree-puh-ZESS-ing

Definition

(adjective) Not attractive or impressive in appearance.

Example

Though unprepossessing at first glance, the restaurant had incredible food.

Despite its long-winded look, unprepossessing is often used for things that don’t stand out at first—but might surprise you later. It’s frequently used in restaurant reviews, character descriptions, or travel writing, where something modest turns out to be memorable. The irony? The word itself isn’t very prepossessing—but its specificity gives it staying power.