Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not firm, solid, or securely in place; unstable.
  • adjective Fluctuating; changeable.
  • adjective Not even or regular; wavering.
  • transitive verb To cause to become unsteady.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In mech., having a motion which is not uniform or which does not take place with a constant angular velocity, or around a permanent axis through the center of gravity of the mass. Revolving bodies out of running balance have an unsteady motion.
  • Not steady.
  • To make unsteady; cause to be fluctuating.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Not held firmly in position, physically unstable.
  • adjective Noted for lack of regularity or uniformity.
  • adjective Inconstant in purpose, or volatile in behaviour.
  • verb To render unsteady, removing balance.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective subject to change or variation
  • adjective not firmly or solidly positioned

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Created by adding the prefix un- to steady. Like steady, the word first appeared in English around 1530. The word is comparable to the Old Frisian onstedich, the Low German unstadig etc.

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Examples

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  • Citation on chitter.

    August 9, 2008