unimaginative

/ˌʌnɪˈmædʒɪnətɪv/ (bre, ipa) · [ənɪmˈædʒˌɪnətɪv] /ˌʌnɪˈmædʒɪnətɪv/ (ame, ipa) · [ənɪmˈædʒˌɪnətɪv] /ˌən-ə-ˈmaj-nə-tiv; -ˈma-jə-ˌnā-,  -nə- How to pronounce unimaginative (audio)/ (ame, mw)

unimaginative — adjective

  • unimaginativepositive
  • more unimaginativecomparative
  • most unimaginativesuperlative

1. If you describe a person or their work as unimaginative, you mean it shows no fr

1.形容詞B2
釋義

If you describe a person or their work as unimaginative, you mean it shows no fresh thinking or creativity; it feels ordinary, safe, and predictable, as if the maker put in no real effort to be original.

例句

Mei described the grey-walled hotel room as bland and unimaginative.

collocation: bland and unimaginative

The newspaper critic called Arjun's latest novel dull and unimaginative.

同義詞
  • unoriginal

    focuses on ideas being derivative or copied from elsewhere, rather than simply uninspired

  • uninspired

    milder; often describes a temporary lack of spark, not a settled trait

  • pedestrian

    more literary; stresses dull ordinariness that bores rather than just fails to excite

反義詞
  • imaginative

    full of new and exciting ideas; the direct opposite

  • creative

    bringing new things into existence through original thought

  • inventive

    skilled at thinking up clever new solutions or devices

用法筆記

Typically describes creative output — designs, writing, solutions, menus — rather than a person's innate mental ability to form images. The word criticises the lack of effort or spark in the result, not a permanent incapacity.

常見錯誤

❌The scientist made an unimaginative discovery.
✅The scientist made an unimagined discovery.
💡'unimaginative' means lacking creativity; 'unimagined' means not previously thought of or dreamed of.
❌The suffering was unimaginative.
✅The suffering was unimaginable.
💡'unimaginable' means too extreme to picture in the mind; 'unimaginative' means dull and not creative.