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.
Unscathed, I left Weiner's office to go work for the Obama campaign in Chicago, which opened up so many extraordinary avenues.
From Salon • Feb. 17, 2020
Unscathed, Barrick expanded during a decade-long upturn in gold prices, becoming the world’s biggest producer with the acquisition of Placer Dome Inc. in 2006 for about $10 billion, including debt, a record in the industry.
From Washington Post • Mar. 28, 2018
Unscathed and cucumber cool, he unsnapped his seat belt and phoned from a farmhouse for his chauffeur to bring the Rolls.
From Time Magazine Archive
Unscathed by Watergate, Morton in 1975 was named Commerce Secretary by Ford, whose presidential campaign he managed in 1976.
From Time Magazine Archive
But there are flowers that bloom enshrin’d In hearts by love united, Unscathed by the autumn wind, By autumn frost unblighted.
From The Poets and Poetry of Cecil County, Maryland by Various
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.
