insecure

comparative more insecure · superlative most insecure

1. Not secure.

   The Yung-li ruler, finding Chao-ch’ing insecure, fled to Wu-chou (梧州), Kuangsi province, and then to Kuei-lin, vigorously pursued by the Manchu army.

   1982, Albert Chan, “After the Fall of Peking”, in The Glory and Fall of the Ming Dynasty, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 371

   1 more example

   It was, as Carrados explained, entirely his own preposterous fault. Nothing but curiosity about the size of the room had impelled him to touch the walls, and the picture, having a weak cord or an insecure nail ... had it not brought something else down in its fall?

   1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries

2. Not comfortable or confident in oneself or in certain situations.

   He's a nice guy and all, but seems to be rather insecure around other people.

   3 more examples

   Imagine being so insecure that you make it against the law for folks to dislike you.

   The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. […] The bed was the most extravagant piece. Its graceful cane halftester rose high towards the cornice and was so festooned in carved white wood that the effect was positively insecure, as if the great couch were trimmed with icing sugar.

   1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC

   When you're knee-deep in these insecure feelings, it can be hard to see clearly.

   2021, Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, “What is... jealousy?”, in Let's Talk About It, →ISBN, page 191

   Synonyms: lost