unscathed
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does unscathed mean? Unscathed is an adjective used to describe being “uninjured” or “unharmed,” especially after a trying or dangerous experience. This word isn’t only used in situations where someone or something has escaped physical injury. It can also be applied to when a person’s reputation, finances, or emotional well-being are unscathed after some major ordeal. Example: The company was lucky to come out of the economic crisis unscathed, still turning a profit and even hiring new employees.
Etymology
Origin of unscathed
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English; see un- 1, scathe ( def. ), -ed 2 ( def. )
Explanation
If you walked away from a nasty bike accident without a scratch, you walked away unscathed, meaning you came out unharmed. You can also come through a scandal unscathed, with your reputation untarnished, or your dog-walking business may emerge from the financial crisis unscathed and more profitable than ever. With the word unscathed, there's always a sense of something bad that might have happened but didn't.
Vocabulary lists containing unscathed
Oedipus the King
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The Odyssey
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Unbroken
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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.
"There's nobody that was unscathed... it was devastating. I cried for two weeks," she says.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
It’s playing with fire, and the common people will not be unscathed.
From Slate • May 15, 2026
It owns Microsoft and cybersecurity software providers Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike, which are emerging unscathed from the new competition.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
EBay emerged from the bursting of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s largely unscathed, prompting then-CEO Meg Whitman to remark that “eBay is to some extent recession-proof.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
“With every passing day, Watergate was circumscribing our freedom of action,” Kissinger, the one person unscathed by scandal, later said.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
