uneasy
Americanadjective
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not easy in body or mind; uncomfortable; restless; disturbed; perturbed.
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not easy in manner; constrained; gauche; stilted.
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not conducive to ease; causing bodily discomfort.
adjective
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(of a person) anxious; apprehensive
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(of a condition) precarious; uncomfortable
an uneasy truce
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(of a thought, etc) disturbing; disquieting
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of uneasy
First recorded in 1250–1300, uneasy is from the Middle English word unesy. See un- 1, easy
Explanation
Uneasy describes an uncomfortable feeling. You might feel socially uneasy when dining with your girlfriend's parents if they don't like you very much. Your stomach may also feel uneasy at that same dinner and gurgle in an embarrassing way. The adjective uneasy has many shades of meaning, most involving mild discomfort. It can refer to a lack of a sense of security. If McDonald's and Burger King team up to develop a new sandwich, that would be an uneasy alliance, because neither side would fully trust the other. Uneasy can also describe causing someone to feel anxious or nervous. If you see someone staring at you mumbling, "That's him, that's the one," you might feel uneasy.
Vocabulary lists containing uneasy
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Don't Panic! Synonyms for "Stress"
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Whoops! Synonyms for "Clumsy"
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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.
Others are uneasy about storing crypto themselves, working with unfamiliar third-party custodians or navigating a market many financial advisers still avoid.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Patterson noted that this is not the first time investors have grown uneasy about Netflix.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
But another dot-com era name reaching a record will undoubtedly make investors uneasy, and increase the talk of an AI bubble.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
The Independent gave it the same score, calling Race Across the World "a wonderful source of escapism in uneasy times" and "the most wholesome show on TV".
From BBC • May 21, 2026
Her voice had taken on anxiety; behind the relief which she could not hide, I sensed her troubled uneasy mind moving from doubt to doubt.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
