Meanings
comparative unsteadier · superlative unsteadiest
- Not held firmly in position; physically unstable.
A slightly unsteady item of furniture.
1 more example
"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:[…]"
1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IV, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLCSynonyms: precarious
- Lacking regularity or uniformity.
Synonyms: chaotic
- Inconstant in purpose, or volatile in behavior.
present singular third person unsteadies · participle present unsteadying · participle past unsteadied · past unsteadied
- To render unsteady, removing balance.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot held firmly in position; physically unstable.
adjectiveLacking regularity or uniformity.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivesubject to change or variation
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
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.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀσταθής, ἀστάθμητος
- ἀσταθής (astathḗs)not held in position
- ἀστάθμητος (astáthmētos)not held in position
Bulgarian неусто́йчив, непостоянен
- неусто́йчив (neustójčiv)not held in position
- непостоянен (nepostojanen)lacking regularity
- несигурен (nesiguren)inconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
Finnish epävakaa, epävakaa
- epävakaanot held in position
- epävakaalacking regularity
- epäsäännöllinenlacking regularity
- epävakaainconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
German unstet
- unstetinconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
Hindi अस्थिर, ढीला
- अस्थिर (asthir)not held in position
- ढीला (ḍhīlā)not held in position
- अनियमित (aniymit)lacking regularity
- अनियमित (aniymit)inconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
- अस्थिर (asthir)inconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
Irish neamhshocair, anacair
- neamhshocairnot held in position
- anacairlacking regularity
- luaineachinconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
Japanese ふらふら, グラグラ
- ふらふら (furafura)not held in position
- グラグラ (guragura)not held in position
Latin instabilis
- instabilisnot held in position
Māori tatutatu, tikoki
- tatutatunot held in position
- tikokinot held in position
- tīkokinot held in position
- tīmangamanganot held in position
- koritakanot held in position
- parikonot held in position
- pārikorikonot held in position
- tūretiretinot held in position
- tīmangamangalacking regularity
Persian شل, لق
- شلnot held in position
- لقnot held in position
Portuguese instável, instável
- instávelnot held in position
- instávellacking regularity
- volúvellacking regularity
- inconstanteinconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
- volátilinconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
Russian неусто́йчивый, ша́ткий
- неусто́йчивый (neustójčivyj)not held in position
- ша́ткий (šátkij)not held in position
- зы́бкий (zýbkij)not held in position
- неусто́йчивый (neustójčivyj)lacking regularity
- неусто́йчивый (neustójčivyj)inconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
- непостоя́нный (nepostojánnyj)inconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
- переме́нчивый (pereménčivyj)inconstant in purpose or volatile in behavior
Swedish ostadig, ostadig
- ostadignot held in position
- ostadiglacking regularity
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with unsteady
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
unsteady. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsteady
“unsteady.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsteady. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unsteady,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsteady.
Source: unsteady on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.