Meanings
comparative more unadorned · superlative most unadorned
- Having no additional decoration or embellishment; plain and simple
Her clothes were unadorned, yet her beauty was undiminished.
2003, Christopher Paolini, “Prologue: Shade of Fear”, in Eragon, page 22 more examples
This was the era of the polykatoikia, the apartment block built of unadorned concrete and typically five or six storeys high.
2019, Roderick Beaton, Greece: Biography of a Modern Country, Penguin, published 2020, page 307Though I wore only a plain somber gray Brunswick gown unadorned by ribbon or lace, and my uncle was dressed in black, the people knew aristocrats on sight.
2019 October 1, Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, E. Knight, Sophie Perinot, Heather Webb, Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution's Women, HarperCollins, →ISBNSynonyms: austere, unembellished, austere, bare, chaste, inornate, modest, plain
- participlepastsimple past and past participle of unadorn
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveHaving no additional decoration or embellishment; plain and simple
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenot decorated with something to increase its beauty or distinction
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Englishadorned
- Englishunadorned
Translations
Ancient Greek ἄκομψος
- ἄκομψος (ákompsos)Having no additional decoration
Bulgarian неукрасен
- неукрасен (neukrasen)Having no additional decoration
Dutch kaal
- kaalHaving no additional decoration
Esperanto senornama
- senornamaHaving no additional decoration
Finnish koristelematon
- koristelematonHaving no additional decoration
French dépouillé, sobre
- dépouilléHaving no additional decoration
- sobreHaving no additional decoration
- sans fiorituresHaving no additional decoration
- sans ornementsHaving no additional decoration
- simpleHaving no additional decoration
German schmucklos, schlicht
- schmucklosHaving no additional decoration
- schlichtHaving no additional decoration
Greek αδιακόσμητος
- αδιακόσμητος (adiakósmitos)Having no additional decoration
Hungarian dísztelen, díszítetlen
- dísztelenHaving no additional decoration
- díszítetlenHaving no additional decoration
Irish lom
- lomHaving no additional decoration
Māori kōkau, tōkau
- kōkauHaving no additional decoration
- tōkauHaving no additional decoration
- tōtōkauHaving no additional decoration
Portuguese desadornado, sem adorno
- desadornadoHaving no additional decoration
- sem adornoHaving no additional decoration
Scottish Gaelic sìmplidh
- sìmplidhHaving no additional decoration
Tagalog lisding
- lisdingHaving no additional decoration
Turkish gösterişsiz, süssüz
- gösterişsizHaving no additional decoration
- süssüzHaving no additional decoration
- sadeHaving no additional decoration
Cite this entry
unadorned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unadorned
“unadorned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unadorned. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unadorned,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unadorned.
Source: unadorned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.