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unsteady. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
unsteady, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
unsteady in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
unsteady you have here. The definition of the word
unsteady will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
unsteady, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From un- + steady. Like steady, the word first appeared in English around 1530. The word is comparable to Old Frisian onstedich, Low German unstadig, etc.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʌnˈstɛdi/
- Rhymes: -ɛdi
- Hyphenation: un‧steady
Adjective
unsteady (comparative unsteadier, superlative unsteadiest)
- Not held firmly in position, physically unstable.
A slightly unsteady item of furniture.
1907 August, Robert W Chambers, chapter IV, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:"Mid-Lent, and the Enemy grins," remarked Selwyn as he started for church with Nina and the children. Austin, knee-deep in a dozen Sunday supplements, refused to stir; poor little Eileen was now convalescent from grippe, but still unsteady on her legs; her maid had taken the grippe, and now moaned all day: "
- Lacking regularity or uniformity.
- Inconstant in purpose, or volatile in behavior.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
not held in position
- Bulgarian: неусто́йчив (bg) (neustójčiv)
- Dagbani: baŋabaŋa
- Finnish: epävakaa (fi)
- Greek:
- Ancient: ἀσταθής (astathḗs), ἀστάθμητος (astáthmētos)
- Hindi: अस्थिर (hi) (asthir), ढीला (hi) (ḍhīlā)
- Irish: neamhshocair
- Japanese: ふらふら (ja) (furafura), グラグラ (guragura)
- Latin: instabilis
- Maori: tatutatu, tikoki, tīkoki, tīmangamanga, koritaka, pariko, pārikoriko, koritaka, tūretireti
- Old English: slipor
- Persian: شل (fa), لق (fa)
- Portuguese: instável (pt)
- Russian: неусто́йчивый (ru) (neustójčivyj), ша́ткий (ru) (šátkij), зы́бкий (ru) (zýbkij)
- Spanish: inestable (es)
- Swedish: ostadig (sv)
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inconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
Translations to be checked
Verb
unsteady (third-person singular simple present unsteadies, present participle unsteadying, simple past and past participle unsteadied)
- To render unsteady, removing balance.
Anagrams