unready

[ uhn-red-ee ]

/ ʌnˈrɛd i /

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See synonyms for unready on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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.

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Origin of unready

First recorded in 1250–1300, unready is from the Middle English word unredy.See un-¹, ready

OTHER WORDS FROM unready

un·read·i·ness, noun

Words nearby unready

unrated, unravel, unreactive, unread, unreadable, unready, unreal, unrealistic, unreality, unrealizable, unrealized

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use unready in a sentence

The king was, therefore, required to be sharply alert to the threats of invasion, but, alas, he was too often a wimp—and all too frequently caught unready.
With Lilibet and Archie, Harry and Meghan Aim to Break the Cycle of Painful Royal Parenting|Clive Irving|June 6, 2021|The Daily Beast
The Chiefs looked lost, unprepared and unready for the biggest game of the year.
Yes, Tom Brady Is The GOAT. But He Didn’t Do It Alone.|Josh Hermsmeyer|February 8, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
As the 2019 Global Health Security Index showed, most nations were unready for a pandemic.
The U.S. was supposed to be equipped to handle a pandemic. So what went wrong?|Editorial Board|December 26, 2020|Washington Post
An internal candidate was deemed unready, and the CEO of Sun Microsystems was seen as too outspoken, so they chose Apotheker.
Meg Whitman Named HP CEO|The Daily Beast|September 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST

By no effort can his elders altogether succeed in keeping tragedy out of the life that is so unready for it.
Ceres' Runaway|Alice Meynell
He did not think of her as one to be blamed, but as one too trusting, and so deceived; he never felt unready to stand up for her.
There and Back|George MacDonald
Just as Peters inferred to have been the case, the attack on the Timothy S. caught the whole crew of pearl hunters unready.
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell
His own numbers were slightly superior, and with a swift rush he annihilated the unready Russians.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane
Turkey appears early in the month as unready to fight Greece before the autumn, "when the ships come home."
Mr. Punch's History of Modern England Vol. IV of IV.|Charles L. Graves

British Dictionary definitions for unready

unready

/ (ʌnˈrɛdɪ) /

adjective

not ready or prepared

slow or hesitant to see or act

archaic not dressed

Derived forms of unready

unreadily, adverbunreadiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

unready

Origin of unready

OTHER WORDS FROM unready

Words nearby unready

Words related to unready

How to use unready in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for unready

Derived forms of unready