unready
- not ready; not made ready: The new stadium is as yet unready for use.
- not in a state of readiness; unprepared: emotionally unready for success.
- lacking in presence of mind, as when a quick decision or a sharp answer is required: Awkward situations often found him unready.
- British Dialect. not dressed.
- not prompt or quick.
Origin of unready
Related Words for unready
tired, sleepy, weary, lackadaisical, passive, careless, apathetic, inattentive, indifferent, dull, lethargic, vulnerable, unaware, forced, afraid, evasive, unenthusiastic, resistant, loath, averseExamples from the Web for unready
Historical Examples of unready
Better let them think him unready; then perhaps they would let him get the lead.
When the West Was YoungFrederick R. Bechdolt
He is as unready in the thought needed for these as he is in the use of his senses.
The ChildrenAlice Meynell
It was unready for war, but war was the only solvent of intolerable troubles.
The Life of Napoleon BonaparteWilliam Milligan Sloane
“I reckon they should be unready to confess the same,” saith she.
Joyce Morrell's HarvestEmily Sarah Holt
Probably he found her coy, unready to acknowledge his demands on her attention.
Robert FalconerGeorge MacDonald
unready
- not ready or prepared
- slow or hesitant to see or act
- archaic not dressed
Word Origin and History for unready
mid-14c., "not prepared," from un- (1) "not" + ready. In English history, applied to Anglo-Saxon King Æðelræd II (968-1016), where it preserves the fuller original sense of Old English ungeræd "ill-advised, rede-less, no-counsel" and plays on the king's name (which means "good-counsel"). The epithet is attested from early 13c. Old English ræda "advise, counsel" is related to read (v.). Rede "counsel" survived in poetic usage to 17c. An attempted revival by Scott (19c.) failed, though it is used in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings."