Insecure Meaning
/ɪnsəˈkjʊə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot secure.
adjNot comfortable or confident in oneself or in certain situations.
Sentence Examples
She felt insecure about her children's future.
She felt insecure about her future.
Tom is very insecure and needs constant reassurance and approval.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ladder felt ____ because one of its legs was broken and it wobbled dangerously.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old wooden bridge felt a bit ____, so we decided to cross the small river one person at a time.
Word Origin & History
From in- + secure, or from Medieval Latin insēcūrus, itself from in- (“in-, un-, non-”) + sēcūrus (“safe, certain”). Piecewise doublet of unsecure and unsure.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It was, as Carrados explained, entirely his own preposterous fault. Nothing but curiosity about the size of the room had impelled him to touch the walls, and the picture, having a weak cord or an insecure nail ... had it not brought something else down in its fall?"
— 1927, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados Mysteries:
"The Yung-li ruler, finding Chao-ch’ing insecure, fled to Wu-chou (梧州), Kuangsi province, and then to Kuei-lin, vigorously pursued by the Manchu army."
— 1982, Albert Chan, “After the Fall of Peking”, in The Glory and Fall of the Ming Dynasty, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 371:
"The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. […] The bed was the most extravagant piece. Its graceful cane halftester rose high towards the cornice and was so festooned in carved white wood that the effect was positively insecure, as if the great couch were trimmed with icing sugar."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"When you're knee-deep in these insecure feelings, it can be hard to see clearly."
— 2021, Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, “What is... jealousy?”, in Let's Talk About It, →ISBN, page 191:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ladder felt ____ because one of its legs was broken and it wobbled dangerously.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old wooden bridge felt a bit ____, so we decided to cross the small river one person at a time.