unassuming •\ˌən-ə-ˈsü-miN\• adjective : not arrogant or presuming The word unassuming has appeared in 195 New York Times articles in the past year, including on May 26 in "North of Berlin, a Quiet Land of Lakes" by Elizabeth Zach: Last September, I went to the western edge of the region to see Krakow am See, a town nestled between two lakes that gives you the feeling of being on an island. A woman who answered the phone at the district's tourist association helped me search for accommodations. At one point she told me, "Ich weiss ein Haus am See," or, "I know a house at the lake." I waited for her to give me the name. She waited, too, and then laughed and said, "No, that is the name." It might be this play on words that has kept Ich weiss ein Haus am See a word-of-mouth treasure; the woman on the phone told me that it barely advertises. Adding to the mystery, she said offhandedly, "Oh, and the restaurant has a Michelin star." I quickly got off the phone with her, called the inn and booked a room. I got lost twice in the town trying to reach the inn, finally landing on a bumpy dirt road that wove through camping grounds and then ended at an isolated and unassuming, but well-kept, white and green bungalow with a white picket fence and hedges surrounding it. Learn more about the word "unassuming" and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary dictionary.