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
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
In her post, Mcallister said: "He was in a bit of an unsteady state due to medication and heat."
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
A man with wide eyes and unsteady breath approaches me.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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
The courage and control of it unsteadied him more than any passionate protest.
From Far to Seek A Romance of England and India by Maud Diver
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 going to be more unsteadying than she had foreseen.
From Far to Seek A Romance of England and India by Maud Diver
Undoubtedly there was a sinking feeling within her, unsteadying in its way.
From V. V.'s Eyes by Henry Sydnor Harrison
But the continued explosions were unsteadying the hand of the drummer.
From The Lost Warship by Robert Moore Williams
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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.
