unattractive

From un- +‎ attractive.

• Rhymes: -æktɪv

unattractive (comparative more unattractive, superlative most unattractive)

1. Not handsome or beautiful or appealing.
   • 1955 July, D. S. Barrie, “Railways of the Bridgend District”, in Railway Magazine, page 449:

     All three parallel valleys of the Llynvi, Garw and Ogmore are much the same in physical character: the lower reaches are wooded and not unattractive, but as the railway climbs on ever-steepening grades, the hills on either hand grow barer and closer together, while in all respects the scene becomes more sombre, with the terraced, slate-roofed colliery towns and the road, railway and river all struggling for space in the narrowing defiles.

2. Lacking the power to attract interest.
   • 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:

     Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.

   • 2023 March 8, David Clough, “The long road that led to Beeching”, in RAIL, number 978, page 39:

     In Britain, nearly 2,500 steam locomotives were built, 999 to new designs. Although the latter were modern, they were still labour-intensive to man and maintain, during a period of full employment when working for poor pay in the dirty railway environment was unattractive.

   • 2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 192:

     In light of the similarities of this word to siṡáya etc. and their close semantic proximity, it is unattractive to separate these two words.

• attractive

unattractive (plural unattractives)

1. An aesthetically unattractive person