What does "unpretended" mean?

Without pretense; sincere; honest.

What is a synonym for "unpretended"?

Common synonyms include: authentic, bona fide, candid, card carrying, genuine, good.

adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Without pretense; sincere; honest.
"Children do not expect to be praized. They would never relax their effort for production. Theirs is a free and unpretended self-expression."
2
Based in fact; genuine; actual.
"First, is it likely that during this unpretended danger we should obtain a settlement of the power of the Kingddme, princip liy of the Ships, Forts and Armes in the hands of them who are knowne friends ofpublique safety or Liberty, taking it granted that we could finde them."
3
Without complication or embellishment; straightforward; simple and direct.
"The front side of the porticoes is shaded by a double-curved eave-cornice of unpretended beauty."

"Children do not expect to be praized. They would never relax their effort for production. Theirs is a free and unpretended self-expression."

From un- + pretended.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.