OBTRUSIVE and its antonym UNOBTRUSIVE are relatively common adjectives. OBTRUSIVE describes something that is very noticeable and therefore easily perceptible. In contrast, UNOBTRUSIVE describes something that is not conspicuous and therefore does not attract attention. Recent vocabulary in context questions have included challenging passages featuring both words. One question asked students to read a short paragraph from Thomas Hardy’s 1874 novel Far from the Maddening Crowd describing seasonal changes in an open field. Hardy noted that the natural changes in the field are “less OBSTRUSIVE” and therefore not as conspicuous as the more visible seasonal changes in a forest. A more difficult question presented students with a complex passage in which architects intended a building’s features to be UNOBTRUSIVE or not deliberately provocative. However, the features unexpectedly proved to be CONTENTIOUS or controversial. Although CONTENTIOUS was a tempting choice, UNOBTRUSIVE was the correct answer.