Unsteady

Pronunciation

• International Phonetic Alphabet: /ǝn'stÉ›dı/Rhymes: -É›di

Origin

Created by adding the prefix un- to steady. Like steady, the word first appeared in English around 1530. The word is comparable to the Old Frisian onstedich, the Low German unstadig etc.

Full definition of unsteady

Adjective

1. Not held firmly in position, physically unstable.
   A slightly unsteady item of furniture.
• 1907, w, The Younger Set Chapter 4, “Mid-Lent, and the Enemy grins,” remarked Selwyn as he started for church with Nina and the children. Austin, knee-deep in a dozen Sunday supplements, refused to stir ; poor little Eileen was now convalescent from grippe, but still unsteady on her legs ; …
2. Noted for lack of regularity or uniformity.
3. Inconstant in purpose, or volatile in behavior.

Synonyms

• (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) precarious, rickety, shaky, tottering, unsafe, unstable, wobbly

Antonyms

• steady

Verb

1. To render unsteady, removing balance.