unballasted
Americanadjective
-
not fitted with or carrying ballast.
-
not properly steadied or regulated.
Etymology
Origin of unballasted
First recorded in 1635–45; un- 1 + ballast ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The nightmare is evidently too much for these unballasted minds.
From The French Revolution - Volume 2 by Durand, John
I hastened to prevent him; but he overthrew me with one hand, and the unballasted balloon ascended to two thousand yards.
From A Winter Amid the Ice and Other Thrilling Stories by Verne, Jules
It heeled over like an unballasted yacht under the lash of a hurricane.
From The Air Trust by England, George Allan
The rails were spiked to every alternate sleeper, and then the great 80-ton engine moved cautiously forward along the unballasted track, like an elephant trying a doubtful bridge.
From The River War An Account of the Reconquest of the Sudan by Churchill, Winston
They were riding an unballasted track and using such speed as they dared to escape from a situation that had become perilous.
From Whispering Smith by Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
