unsteadiness
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Related to unsteadiness: lightheadedness
un·stead·y
(ŭn-stĕd′ē)adj. un·stead·i·er, un·stead·i·est
1. Not firm, solid, or securely in place; unstable.
2. Fluctuating; changeable: an unsteady market.
3. Not even or regular; wavering: an unsteady voice.
tr.v. un·stead·ied, un·stead·y·ing, un·stead·ies
To cause to become unsteady.
un·stead′i·ly adv.
un·stead′i·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Unsteadiness
See Also: MOVEMENT
- Flounder around like a fish on the beach —Anon
A commonly used variation: “Flounder around like a beached whale.”
- Floundered like a waterlogged ship —James Hilton
- Floundered like insects in yogurt —George F. Will, about those involved in Watergate crimes
- Floundering like someone running in deep sand, blind without glasses, burdened with books —George Garrett
- Flounder like a compass that’s lost its needle —Anon
A variation: “Flounder like a windup watch without a dial.”
- (Was solidly built but) gave the impression of not being very stable, like a building with imperfect foundations —MacDonald Harris
- Reel like a leaf that’s drawn to a water-wheel —Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Stagger like a drunken man —The Holy Bible/The Psalms
- Staggers slightly … like a carnival clown —Hilary Masters
- Staggers to his feet like a battered middleweight coming out for the fifteenth round —T. Coraghessan Boyle
- Stumbled … like an old woman leaning on a cane that wasn’t there —Ross Macdonald
- Stumbled like fat sheep —Stephen Crane
- Stumbling a little over his own feet like an adolescent not accustomed to his new growth —Margaret Millar
- Tumbling … like a moth blinded by sudden brightness —Jerzy Kosinski
- Unconstant as the wind; as wavering as the weathercock —William Walker
- Unstable as water —The Holy Bible/Genesis
- (She seemed volatile right now,) unstable, like a vial of nitroglycerin —Sue Grafton
- Unsteady like a pole balanced on the tip of one’s finger —Arthur Schopenhauer
- Wavering as the wind —John Heywood’s Proverbs
Modernized from the Old English: “Waueryng as the wynde.”
- Wobbled like an overfed penguin —Len Deighton
- (His new English) wobbles like a first bicycle —Diane Ackerman
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Noun | 1. | ![]() movability, movableness - the quality of being movable; capable of being moved or rearranged steadiness, firmness - the quality of being steady or securely and immovably fixed in place |
2. | ![]() unregularity, irregularity - not characterized by a fixed principle or rate; at irregular intervals unstableness, instability - the quality or attribute of being unstable and irresolute steadiness - the quality of being steady--regular and unvarying |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
unsteadiness
noun1. The quality or condition of being physically unsteady:
2. The quality or condition of being erratic and undependable:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
unsteadiness
[ˈʌnˈstedɪnɪs] N [of chair, ladder, structure] → inestabilidad f, inseguridad f; [of sb's steps, walk] → lo vacilante, inseguridad f; [of voice, hand] → temblor mCollins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
unsteadiness
n (of hand, legs, steps) → Unsicherheit f; (of ladder) → Wack(e)ligkeit f; (of flame) → Flackern nt; (of voice, economy) → Schwanken nt; (of progress) → Ungleichmäßigkeit f; (of growth) → Unregelmäßigkeit f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007