unguardedadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈɡɑːdᵻd/, /(ˌ)ʌŋˈɡɑːdᵻd/, U.S. /ˌənˈɡɑrdəd/ 1.
a. Not furnished with, or protected by, a guard; left undefended or open to attack, spoliation, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > exposed to danger > vulnerable > unguarded
unwarneda1240
unwarda1325
unwarded1382
unkept?c1430
undefenced1451
unguardedc1602
guardless?1611
watchless1842
c1602 C. Marlowe tr. Ovid Elegies iii. iv. sig. Ev Few loue, what others haue vnguarded left.
1626 J. Mede Let. 14 Oct. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. III. 250 I hear some of opinion that the Duke likes not so unguarded a place.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 602 He views th' unguarded City from afar, In careless quiet, and secure of War.
a1771 T. Gray Agrippina in Poems (1775) 128 Alone, unguarded, and without a lictor.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxxi. 193 His troops..occupied the unguarded passes of the Apennine.
1824 L.-M. Hawkins Annaline III. 40 [He] made off and left the door unguarded.
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey I. 208 We used to ride..through the country unarmed and unguarded.
1885 Manch. Examiner 13 Jan. 5/3 A small body..entered the town by an unguarded gate.
b. In figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
1673 R. Leigh Transproser Rehears'd 39 This is Momba's and De Groot's doings, to leave this passage open and ungarded.
a1704 T. Brown Satyr against Woman in Wks. (1707) I. i. 83 Thus all the unguarded passes of his Mind she'll try.
c. transferred. In chess or card-playing: Not protected by other pieces or cards.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [adjective] > positions
unguarded1808
guarded1835
weak1860
checking?1870
pinned1924
1808 Hoyle's Game of Chess 46 (note) Your knight will then defend your king's pawn, otherwise unguarded.
1862 ‘Cavendish’ Princ. Whist (1864) 95 Queen singly guarded may make a trick, but the ten of clubs unguarded cannot.
2.
a. Not on one's guard; not taking heed or exercising caution. Chiefly figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > incautiousness > [adjective]
unwarec897
uncircumspect?1504
incircumspect1531
unwares1548
wareless1562
unwary1579
unwarning1609
incautelous1610
uncharya1616
uncautelous1628
uncanny1638
unguarded1640
uncautious1644
guardless1654
uncautioned1671
incautiousa1703
cautionless1792
unaware1817
1640 J. Shirley Coronation iv. sig. H2 I..have not A thought so much unguarded, as to be wonne From my truth, and innocence.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 609 Rais'd on the Stretch, young Turnus aims a blow, Full on the Helm of his unguarded Foe.
a1763 W. King Polit. & Lit. Anecd. (1819) 44 Sir Robert [Walpole] was frequently very unguarded in his expressions.
1796 F. Burney Camilla IV. vii. xii. 185 The unsuspicious frankness of an unguarded, because innocent nature.
1840 Lady Lyttelton Corr. (1912) 298 Such a new thing for her to dare to be unguarded in conversation with anybody.
1881 B. Jowett tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War I. 186 The general who..never loses an opportunity of striking at an unguarded foe.
b. Of times: Characterized by the absence of guard or caution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > incautiousness > [adjective] > specifically of times
unguarded1680
1680 T. Otway Orphan i. 11 I'll yet possess my Love, Wait on, and watch her loose unguarded hours.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xii. 336 An active enemy..must, in the end, discover some feeble spot or some unguarded moment.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xv. 596 It is highly probable that his mother..took a fatal advantage of some unguarded hour, when he was irritated by finding his advice slighted.
c. Of expressions, actions, etc.: Incautious, imprudent; careless.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > incautiousness > [adjective] > specifically of actions
foolhardyc1390
unwarea1395
uncircumspect1563
unwary1610
unguarded1714
off guard1937
1714 S. Ockley in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) (Camden) 350 If a person should..upon the account of an unguarded expression..suffer a capital sentence.
1751 Earl of Orrery Remarks Swift (1752) ix. 114 A picture..drawn in too loose a garment, and too unguarded a posture.
1827 E. Bulwer-Lytton Falkland 37 I have watched feeling in its unguarded sallies.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi III. x. vii. 309 Their gestures were vehement and unguarded.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 163 Every unguarded word uttered by him was noted down.
3. Not protected, screened, or fenced off, by some arrangement or device.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > exposed to danger > vulnerable > unguarded > unguarded by some device
unguarded1770
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 240 d, f, l, when they stand with their beaks unguarded,..run as great a hazard [of being broken].
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 469 Ev'ry twentieth pace Conducts th' unguarded nose to such a whiff Of stale debauch.
1844 H. M. Noad Lect. Electr. (ed. 2) 80 Decomposing water by current alone, and with unguarded poles.
1872 W. D. Howells Their Wedding Journey vi. 158 The road.., next the precipice, is unguarded by any sort of parapet.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 2 May 6/3 Dust or gas..ignited by an unguarded lamp.
Derivatives
unˈguardedness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > incautiousness > [noun]
unwarenessa1425
unware1475
unwariness1544
incircumspectness1568
uncircumspection1598
incautelousness1640
incircumspection1646
uncautelousnessa1656
uncautiousness1672
incaution1720
incautiousness1811
unguardedness1818
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > liability to harm, loss, etc. > action or condition of exposure to harm > unprotectedness
nakednessa1586
openness1587
exposedness1620
obviousness1669
defencelessness1683
unguardedness1818
unprotectedness1819
fencelessness1856
1818 ‘T. Brown’ Brighton III. i. 38 So also does he argue with ability, when unguardedness does not break in upon him.
1828 M. M. Sherwood Lady of Manor VI. xxvii. 51 That sort of unguardedness which consists in supposing all around one to be well-intentioned.
1887 Women's Union Jrnl. 15 Dec. 94 A moment of optical unguardedness, when..eve-glasses lay on a table before him.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1924; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.c1602