Unsteady

//ʌnˈstɛdi// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To render unsteady, removing balance.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Not held firmly in position; physically unstable.

    "A slightly unsteady item of furniture."

  2. 2
    Lacking regularity or uniformity.
  3. 3
    Inconstant in purpose, or volatile in behavior.
Adjective
  1. 1
    not firmly or solidly positioned wordnet
  2. 2
    subject to change or variation wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
flickeringfluctuatingprecariousshiftytotteryuneven

Example

More examples

"I observed that his hands were unsteady."

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.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.