Meanings
unsafe1
comparative more unsafe · comparative unsafer · superlative most unsafe · superlative unsafest
- Not safe (various senses); dangerous.
For much the same reasons that safe languages are preferred over unsafe languages, these powerful---but unsafe---capabilities in Java should be restricted.
2015 October, Luis Mastrangelo et al., “Use at your own risk: the Java unsafe API in the wild”, in ACM SIGPLAN Notices, volume 50, number 10, →DOI2 more examples
"RMT has made it clear that our members have a right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions, and the union will be closely monitoring the situation. [...]"
2020 May 20, Richard Clinnick, “Network News: More trains... but advice is not to use public transport”, in Rail, pages 7–8Even as FDA works to develop that plan, consumers continue to be exposed to unsafe food chemicals including not just dyes but also the artificial sweetener aspartame, the white pigment titanium dioxide, the preservative propylparaben, and the phthalate food packaging chemicals, according to CSPI.
2025 January 15, “FDA moves to eliminate carcinogenic Red 3 from foods”, in Center for Science in the Public Interest, archived from the original on 10 Nov 2025Synonyms: precarious, rickety, shaky, tottering, unsteady, unstable, wobbly
unsafe2
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot safe (various senses); dangerous.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivelacking in security or safety
adjectiveinvolving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
adjectivenot safe from attack
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
unsafe · adjective
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Englishsafe
- Englishunsafe
unsafe · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
- Proto-Germanic*anda-
- Proto-West Germanic*anda-
- Old Englishand-
- Old Englishon-
- Middle Englishon-
- Englishun-
- Englishsafe
- Englishunsafe
From un- (reversive prefix) + safe.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian несигурен, опасен
- несигурен (nesiguren)not safe
- опасен (opasen)not safe
Catalan insegur
- insegurnot safe
Czech nebezpečný
- nebezpečnýnot safe
Danish usikker
- usikkernot safe
Dutch onveilig
- onveilignot safe
Finnish turvaton, vaarallinen
- turvatonnot safe
- vaarallinennot safe
French dangereux
- dangereuxnot safe
German unsicher
- unsichernot safe
Italian insicura
- insicuranot safe
Latin intūtus
- intūtusnot safe
Māori haumarukore
- haumarukorenot safe
Norwegian Bokmål usikker
- usikkernot safe
Polish niebezpieczny
- niebezpiecznynot safe
Portuguese inseguro
- inseguronot safe
Romanian nesigur
- nesigurnot safe
Russian опасный
- опасный (opasnyj)not safe
Spanish inseguro
- inseguronot safe
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with unsafe
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
unsafe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsafe
“unsafe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsafe. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unsafe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsafe.
Source: unsafe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.