unsteady
Americanadjective
-
not steady or firm; unstable; shaky.
an unsteady hand.
-
fluctuating or wavering.
an unsteady flame; unsteady prices.
- Synonyms:
- vacillating
-
irregular or uneven.
an unsteady development.
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
not securely fixed
an unsteady foothold
-
(of behaviour, etc) lacking constancy; erratic
-
without regularity
an unsteady rhythm
-
(of a manner of walking, etc) precarious, staggering, as from intoxication
verb
Synonym Usage
See unsettled.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unsteady
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.
See Examples For:
But understand the risk of being unsteady on special teams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
The talks also come at an unsteady time for the world's second-largest economy, which has struggled to address persistently sluggish domestic spending and a protracted crisis in the crucial property sector.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
He claimed sometimes he had touched their shoulders as he was "steadying himself" due to being unsteady on his feet because of his condition.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Any influence Laura Overdeck gains at Two Sigma could upset the delicate and unsteady power arrangement between the firm’s founders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
I’m still pretty unsteady so I have to take a cloudy breath or two before I do anything.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
From oil prices to regional alliances, the six-month-old conflict has defied expectations and unsteadied the global balance of power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
The challenge will be not getting unsteadied by meticulously curated opposing pitching plans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2024
I breathed out, took my foot off the gas, and the car quivered, unsteadied.
From The Verge ● Feb. 9, 2016
At the same time, he knows what it’s like to be unsteadied by professional disappointment – and, worse, to be toppled, outright, by personal tragedy.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 18, 2015
My heart, burning in grief, has been unsteadied!
From The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Volckmer has said the subheading was kept off the cover “as a surprise” – making it the first of many unsteadying gear shifts in a monologue that sets out to unsettle.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 3, 2020
It is deeply unsteadying to ponder the possibility that Riefenstahl might have been both a considerable artist and a considerable Nazi.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 19, 2015
It was not more contemptuous, nor less; but something about it was unsteadying.
From Red Fleece by Will Levington Comfort
Undoubtedly there was a sinking feeling within her, unsteadying in its way.
From V. V.'s Eyes by Henry Sydnor Harrison
Perhaps the strain on the poor doctor’s nerves was unsteadying him by this time: he may not have seen right; but he seemed to see only one name, as if compounded from the former two.
From Devil Stories An Anthology by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
