Unselfconsciously

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Exhibiting behavior without awareness or concern for how one appears to others
2. Acting in a manner that is free from self-consciousness, allowing for genuine expression
3. Engaging in actions without the burden of self-awareness, often resulting in a natural and uninhibited demeanor

Etymology: "Unselfconsciously" is a straightforward formation: the adjective "unselfconscious" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" added at the end. Its two halves have quite different ancestries, and the suffix is the older and more widespread of the two. The suffix "-ly" descends from an ancient root meaning "body" or "form," which passed through Proto-Germanic as "-līkaz," meaning "having the form or appearance of." Over centuries in Old English, "-līċe" was attached to adjectives to form adverbs, and the spelling gradually reduced to "-ly" in Middle English. The sense is essentially "in the manner of," so "unselfconsciously" means "in a manner that is not self-conscious." The rest of the word is native English. The prefix "un-" comes down from Proto-Germanic and was already productive in Old English, where it negated adjectives directly, as it still does here. "Self-conscious" itself is a later compound, built from "self" and "conscious," and it is the adjective being negated. The whole word is thus a native English chain of prefix, compound, and suffix, with no borrowing involved.

Synonyms: naturally, spontaneously, authentically, freely, genuinely

Antonyms: self-consciously, awkwardly, artificially, uncomfortably, unnaturally