unstrung

• Had the pirates kept together it is certain that they would have won; but the onset came when they were still unstrung, and they ran hither and thither, striking wildly, each thinking himself the last survivor of the crew. —  Peter Pan
• I was dreadfully nervous and unstrung, as you will see, when I tell you how I blundered. —  In the Courts of Memory 1858-1875
• I heard the instrument of her voice in one word unstrung, untuned. —  Carey, Jaqueline - Kushiel's Dart orig
• Montague's sword unstrung the arm that upheld it, and the next instant the pastor was surrounded by friends Among their number was John Bumpus, who was one of the crew of Montague's boat, and who now rushed upon the savages with a howl peculiarly his own, felling one with a blow of his fist, and another with a slash of his cutlass You must retire," said Montague, hastily, to Frederick Mason, who stood panting and inactive for a few moments in order to recover breath. —  Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader
• She seems unstrung, and may get worse; a change will certainly do her good," replied the man whose craft and cunning were unequalled. —  The Doctor of Pimlico Being the Disclosure of a Great Crime

Word Family