The first of these carries a meaning like those in the tweets above it, but in the second example, low-key is an adverb of manner, modifying the adjective with a meaning of something like 'subtly' or 'in a veiled way.' Rafe Godfrey, The Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette-Mail, 10 Aug. 2018Īnd I have to wonder: Did Justice receive low-key threatening letters similar to those my wife and I got when we owed around $100 in state taxes? Somehow, I doubt it…. Reggie Hayes, The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana), 9 Aug. But this fall's football duel might well be a first: They're low-key racing to see who picks a quarterback first. Shortly after time began, Indiana and Purdue universities started competing in sports. It means something along the lines of 'kinda' or 'somewhat' or 'in a subdued way.'Īdverbial low-key is also appearing in news publications, often with a slightly different meaning: It's functioning in these examples as a classic adverb of degree, modifying a verb to temper it into something a bit subtler. #PGAChamp- Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 August 12, 2018 if I miss Tiger Woods' historic comeback. I'm losing satellite signal and low-key panicking. I barely have time to listen to albums of artist I like, how y’all got ALL this energy to listen and then report back about rappers you low-key hate?- G.L. After more than a century of life as an adjective, it's increasingly spied in full-on adverbial mode:

Low-key (also styled as low-keyed) has historically been one such word, but these days it's doing something pretty daring: moving into new semantic territory. They just keep doing their thing, helpfully contributing to an utterance's meaning without making much of a fuss. Some words are, you know, pretty low-key. Update: This meaning was added in October 2021

Low key meaning origin