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Is there a word or an idiom that describes someone who is beautiful but unaware of it?

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    Humble and Modest. May 11, 2015 at 22:37
  • How, in this context, are you defining "beauty"?
    – user98990
    May 11, 2015 at 22:54
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    Hidden gem, diamond-in-the-rough, radiant May 11, 2015 at 23:39
  • 4
    oblivious, simple, naive, child-like, ingenuous...
    – Mari-Lou A
    May 12, 2015 at 0:15
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    The term ingénue may be useful to you - it specifically refers to a young and innocent woman, but generally has the connotation of beauty, eagerness, etc which are untempered by worldliness.
    – recognizer
    May 12, 2015 at 18:35

4 Answers 4

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Innocent might work to capture the lack of conceit:

adjective

Without experience or knowledge of:

ODO

Alice is that much more charming, because she is so innocent of her beauty.

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"modest", as mentioned by Kandpal in a comment, is the closest I can get.

Other adjectives such as "humble", "shy", "meek" and "timid" seem like poorer choices.

  • That country girl is really modest. She seems to be completely unaware of her beauty.
  • modest - (adj) "not too proud or confident about yourself or your abilities"
  • modesty - (noun) " the quality of not being too proud or confident about yourself or your abilities" MW

e.g.

"I noticed she is very modest about her physical characteristics."

"The scientist accepted the prize with modesty."

"The princess is known for her modesty, which is very unusual among royals."

"His whole speech reeks of false modesty."

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    IMHO, modesty and humility are not implied by ignorance. Perhaps if she were aware of her beauty you might see that she is not modest at all. Completely unrelated, IMO, except that someone who is immodest might be less likely to be ignorant of her beauty. The converse does not follow (ignorance does not imply modesty).
    – Drew
    May 12, 2015 at 1:27
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In our civilization, where physical beauty is so highly prized, I would call someone who isn't aware of their own good looks to be clueless.

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  • Please include attributions for all links in plain text (i.e., M-W) somewhere in you posts.
    – user98990
    May 11, 2015 at 23:01
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If the person lacks self-awareness of their good looks, then Mari-Lou A's suggestions are pretty spot on.

If the person is trying to succeed by the merit of their work rather than their looks, then you could use the word unpretentious.

: not having or showing the unpleasant quality of people who want to be regarded as more impressive, successful, or important than they really are
Merriam-Webster online

However, if the person lacks confidence in the way they look, then I would use the word insecure.

: not confident or sure : uncertain <feeling somewhat insecure of his reception>
Merriam-Webster online

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