Unsafe Meaning
/ʌnˈseɪf/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot safe (various senses); dangerous.
verbTo remove the safety from (a weapon).
Sentence Examples
This company sold unsafe products.
I feel unsafe walking around at night.
We now believe this drug is unsafe for children.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old building was declared ____ because its walls were cracked and the roof was falling.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old bridge was declared ____ for heavy vehicles after a recent inspection revealed several major cracks in it today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English safe English unsafe From un- (not) + safe.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"For much the same reasons that safe languages are preferred over unsafe languages, these powerful---but unsafe---capabilities in Java should be restricted."
— 2015 October, Luis Mastrangelo et al., “Use at your own risk: the Java unsafe API in the wild”, in ACM SIGPLAN Notices, volume 50, number 10, →DOI:
""RMT has made it clear that our members have a right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions, and the union will be closely monitoring the situation. [...]""
— 2020 May 20, Richard Clinnick, “Network News: More trains... but advice is not to use public transport”, in Rail, pages 7–8:
"Even as FDA works to develop that plan, consumers continue to be exposed to unsafe food chemicals including not just dyes but also the artificial sweetener aspartame, the white pigment titanium dioxide, the preservative propylparaben, and the phthalate food packaging chemicals, according to CSPI."
— 2025 January 15, “FDA moves to eliminate carcinogenic Red 3 from foods”, in Center for Science in the Public Interest, archived from the original on 10 Nov 2025:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old building was declared ____ because its walls were cracked and the roof was falling.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old bridge was declared ____ for heavy vehicles after a recent inspection revealed several major cracks in it today.