| 释义 |
unˈsteadfast, a.
[un-1 8 and 5 b. Cf. ON. ústaðfast-r (older Da. ustadfæst).]
1. Of persons, the mind, etc.: Not steadfast in conduct or opinion; inconstant, fickle.
a1200Moral Ode 241 in O.E. Hom. I. 175 Þo boð þa þe weren her a þanke unstedefeste. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 61 We turnen ofte to him and fro him, for we beð unstedefaste. a1300Cursor M. 6516 Þi folk..has don a suik; Sin þat þou com fra þam last, Þou sal þam find ful vn-stedfast. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 944 Huo wolde wene þat a weih woxen on elde Were wist for vnstedefast of word or of dede? c1450Mankind 207 in Macro Plays 8, I am onstedfast in lywynge; my name ys ‘Mankynde’. 1502W. Atkynson tr. De Imitatione iii. xxii. 214, I am ryghte feble and vnstedfaste. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 193 This king was..vnstedfast of maners and disposed to lightnesse. 1601Campion Bk. Ayres xiv. 4 My heart..is dismaid by thee, Who art so cruell and vnsteadfast growne. 1647H. More Song of Soul, etc. 319 When my weakened soul Unstedfast, into this Outworld doth reel. a1850Rossetti Dante & Circle i. (1874) 123 He answers Dante, confessing his unsteadfast heart. 1850–1Longfellow Gold. Leg. ii. Village Church, Pardon in me The oscillation of a mind Unsteadfast.
absol.1825Coleridge Aids Refl. 379 In the perfect fore⁓knowledge that they would confirm the disbelieving, alienate the unsteadfast.
2. Not remaining in the same state; liable to change or alteration:
a. Of the world, life, etc.
c1200Moral Ode 320 in O.E. Hom. II. 229 We wilnieð after wereldes wele þe longe ne mai ilaste, And legeð mast al ure swinc on þing unstedefaste. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 33 Be caus of this divisioun, all the warld is in a wylde thocht, unstedefast. 1475Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 3 Thoroughe sodein and variable chaunces of unstedfast fortune. a1500in Ratis Raving, etc. 22 Leid thi lyf with thaim that the louis for the day of the vnstedfast lyf. 1574T. Hill Conject. Weather i, Then shall follow an unstedfast Winter. 1591Spenser Daphn. 518 For all mens states alike vnstedfast be. 1600Tourneur Transf. Metam. iv, Subiect unto th' unstedfast moone's controle.
b. Of persons, qualities, etc.
1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 388 b/2 Whome ought I better to chese of thyse two, or the kyng puyssaunt pardurable..or one seek unstedfast. 1513More Rich. III (1883) 6 With large giftes he get hym unstedfaste frendeshippe. 1535Coverdale Prov. v. 6 She regardeth not the path of life, so vnstedfast are hir wayes, that thou canst not knowe them. 1600Holland Livy 671 The assured loialtie of the captaines..was but vaine, fickle, and unsteadfast.
3. Not firmly established or fixed; readily moving or changing place; not firm or steady.
13..Propr. Sanct. 158 in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. LXXXI. 93 He made Nettes to beo cast In to þe se vnstudefast. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xii. xxxii. (Bodl. MS.), Þe pecock haþ an vnstedefaste and an yuel schape heede. 1563Mirr. Mag., Induct. xxxiii, Her iyes vnstedfast rolling here and there. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 193 As full of perill..As to o're-walke a Current, roaring loud, On the vnstedfast footing of a Speare. 1657Austen Fruit Trees ii. 28 The farther off the Branches are from the Roote, the more loose, and unsteadfast they are. 1793Wordsw. Descr. Sk. 252 Bare steeps, where Desolation stalks, afraid, Unsteadfast, by a blasted yew upstay'd. 1864Dora Greenhill Lyra Myst., Soul Garden. xii, These Lilies..That quiver with unsteadfast light.
fig.1817Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. vii. 621 The unsteadfast basis on which the power of the leaders at Poonah was placed.
Hence unˈsteadfastly adv.
1559Guest Let. to Cecil in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. App. xiv. 38, I have neither ungodly allowed anything against the Scripture, neither unstedfastly done anything contrary to my writing. 1611Cotgr., Inconstamment,..vnstedfastly, mutably, waueringly. |