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.
Americans don’t like inflation and are feeling bruised and uneasy as they struggle to cope with high gasoline prices.
From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026
Donald Trump is poised to be the first US president visiting China in almost a decade, but an uneasy trade truce and tensions over Iran and Taiwan loom over his trip next week.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
A year after the four-day India-Pakistan conflict brought South Asia to the edge of a dangerous escalation, the region has drifted into a brittle and deeply uneasy equilibrium.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
The British novelist Gwendoline Riley introduces her narrator, Laura, through a series of episodes that capture her uneasy foray into adulthood—caught between her working-class origins and her new place among London’s creatively ambitious, self-involved elite.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
When they went foraging in the woods, Powhatans often harassed them, and coexistence between the two groups was uneasy.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
