low-key

[loh-kee] adjective, verb, low-keyed, low-key·ing.
adjective Also, low-keyed.
1.
of reduced intensity; restrained; understated.
2.
(of a photograph) having chiefly dark tones, usually with little tonal contrast ( distinguished from high-key ).
verb (used with object)
3.
to make or attempt to make low-key: to low-key the arms buildup.

Origin:
1890–95

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To low-key
Collins
World English Dictionary
low-key or low-keyed
 
adj
1.  having a low intensity or tone
2.  restrained, subdued, or understated
3.  Compare high-key (of a photograph, painting, etc) having a predominance of dark grey tones or dark colours with few highlights
 
low-keyed or low-keyed
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Low-key is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
to flee; abscond:
to bark; yelp.
Slang Dictionary

low-key definition


  1. mod.
    not obvious; not hyped. : Let's try to keep this low-key so as not to upset the family.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Life remained low-key within the weekend retreat for decades: tennis and
  badminton by day, cookouts on the beach at night.
Their advocacy of a low-key president seems close to a wish for the job to be
  done badly.
Too low-key for today's radio, which is desperately chasing a way to make easy
  money without putting on anything of quality.
But these were low-key efforts compared with the programs to develop nuclear
  weapons.
Related Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT