Unsteady Meaning
/ʌnˈstɛdi/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot held firmly in position; physically unstable.
adjLacking regularity or uniformity.
Sentence Examples
I observed that his hands were unsteady.
I drank too much and was unsteady on my feet.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old man's hands were so ____ that he could not pour tea without spilling.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His hands were a bit ____ as he tried to pour the hot tea into the small ceramic cup early this morning today.
Word Origin & History
From un- + steady. Like steady, the word first appeared in English around 1530. The word is comparable to Old Frisian onstedich, Low German unstadig, etc.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""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; her maid had taken the grippe, and now moaned all day:[…]""
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IV, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The old man's hands were so ____ that he could not pour tea without spilling.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His hands were a bit ____ as he tried to pour the hot tea into the small ceramic cup early this morning today.