unsettledadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈsɛtld/, U.S. /ˌənˈsɛd(ə)ld/ 1. in combination.1790 J. White Jrnl. Voy. New S. Wales 105 Strong breezes, with unsettled-looking weather.
a. Not peaceful, tranquil, or orderly; disturbed; not (yet) quietly or firmly established.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > political unrest > [adjective]
unsettled1605
turbulent1609
convulsivea1797
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > [adjective]
troublousc1449
unquiet?1520
troublesome1548
tumultuous1548
disturbed1593
hurly-burly1598
wild1600
unsettled1605
routing1634
tumultuary1650
dissettled1673
embroiled1709
weltering1831
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. ii. 45 Of winged Clouds the wide inconstant House, Th' vn-setled Kingdome of swift Æolus.
1659 in E. Nicholas Nicholas Papers (1920) IV. 265 The new and unsettled Government in England.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 225 My cruel Fate, And doubts attending an unsettled State, Force me to guard my Coast, from Foreign Foes.
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. xi. 54 But the two extremes are more common, and in a greater degree in this unsettled island.
1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family I. 41 The hurry and unsettled state which..had attended their first arrival in the country.
1826 W. Scott Woodstock I. v. 126 The times were dangerous and unsettled.
1876 G. Bancroft Hist. U.S. (rev. ed.) I. vi. 171 A report of a committee concerning the unsettled government of Virginia.
b. Of weather, etc.: Changeable, variable.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > [adjective] > changeable
variable1509
unsettled1707
catchy1784
broken1793
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 587 If unsettled or moist Weather happen at the time of its working.
1777 J. Cook Voy. S. Pole I. i. iii. 59 The wind continued unsettled.
1803 M. Charlton Wife & Mistress (ed. 2) IV. 114 His health, which was yet very unsettled.
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xvi. 255 The weather was too unsettled for his fleet..to join him.
c. That has not yet settled down; still in a state of flux or motion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > [adjective] > moving
stirringc950
movablea1382
swayingc1400
moving?a1425
shifting1479
mobile1490
unquiet1539
movent1644
impacifica1657
traversing1785
unstationary1832
unsettled1845
shifty1884
1691 J. Harrington in A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses (1692) II. Introd. a i b The Graces of Measure and numbers..are not to be expected in a rude and unsettled Language.
1845 J. Phillips & C. G. B. Daubeny Geol. in Encycl. Metrop. VI. 552/1 [Remains of plants] might be long suspended in the unsettled water, and be transported along with the finer matter.
1894 M. Dyan All in Man's Keeping (1899) 100 The dust flying in unsettled clouds about him.
2.
a. Not settled in a particular place or position.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [adjective] > with no fixed aim or wandering > as a way of life
wanderingc1400
walking1491
vagrant1546
unsettled1593
Scenite1600
irresianta1657
nomad1798
nomadical1801
seatless1807
nomadic1818
nomade1819
semi-nomadic1843
nomad-pastoral1880
semi-nomad1948
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie ii. vi. 112 To set him selfe in an house of Cedar trees, and to behold the arke of the Lords Couenant vnsetled.
1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. Anc. Inhabitants Scotl. II. i. 516 The Francs..appear in history as a people unsettled, roving up and down.
1761 C. Churchill Rosciad 19 Next follows Sh-r-d-n—A doubtful name, As yet unsettled in the rank of Fame.
1782 W. F. Martyn Geogr. Mag. 1 i. iii. 205 A considerable encampment of these unsettled Arabs.
1807 J. Barlow Columbiad ii. 70 These tribes have forester'd the fruitful zone, Their seats unsettled, and their name unknown.
1863 A. K. H. Boyd Graver Thoughts Country Parson vii. 106 They were a race of hunters; unsettled, cruel and deceitful.
1896 Harper's Mag. June 26/1 I am a single woman, unsettled as yet.
b. Pathology. Not confined to a definite part or spot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > characteristics > [adjective] > generalized
unsettled1793
generalized1843
1793 J. Abernethy Surg. & Physiol. Ess. 18 He was..teized with unsettled rheumatic pains.
1819 Lady Morgan in Passages from Autobiogr. (1859) 267 A severe illness, arising..from unsettled gout.
3.
a. Not settled or staid in character; of a restless or turbulent disposition.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > spiritedness or liveliness > [adjective] > boisterously lively
exuberant?1504
flagartie1535
unsober1542
unstaida1557
coltisha1586
skittisha1592
unsettled1594
untameful1607
tearing1654
boisterousa1683
rackety1773
rumbustiousa1777
ranty1783
polrumptious1787
spanking1801
flisky1807
uproarious1819
unplacid1825
skylarking1826
fizzy1855
polyphloisboisterousa1875
polyphloisbic1915
raucous1919
boysy1921
bang-about1933
Tigger-like1974
the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective]
slidinga900
wankleeOE
windyc1000
unsteadfastc1200
fleeting?c1225
loose?c1225
brotelc1315
unstablec1340
varyingc1340
variantc1374
motleyc1380
ungroundedc1380
muablea1393
passiblea1393
remuablea1393
changeablea1398
movablea1398
variablec1397
slidderya1400
ticklec1400
variantc1412
flitting1413
mutable?a1425
movingc1425
flaskisable1430
flickering1430
transmutablec1430
vertible1447
brittlea1450
ficklea1450
permutablec1450
unfirmc1450
uncertain1477
turnable1483
unsteadfast1483
vagrantc1522
inconstant1526
alterable?1531
stirringc1540
slippery1548
various1552
slid?1553
mutala1561
rolling1561
weathery1563
unconstant1568
interchangeable1574
fluctuant1575
stayless1575
transitive1575
voluble1575
changeling1577
queasy1579
desultory1581
huff-puff1582
unstaid1586
vagrant1586
changeful1590
floating1594
Protean1594
unstayed1594
swimming1596
anchorless1597
mobilec1600
ticklish1601
catching1603
labile1603
unrooted1604
quicksilvered1605
versatile1605
insubstantial1607
uncertain1609
brandling1611
rootless1611
squeasy1611
wind-changinga1616
insolid1618
ambulatory1625
versatilous1629
plastic1633
desultorious1637
unbottomed1641
fluid1642
fluent1648
yea-and-nay1648
versipellous1650
flexile1651
uncentred1652
variating1653
chequered1656
slideable1662
transchangeative1662
weathercock-like1663
flicketing1674
fluxa1677
lapsable1678
wanton1681
veering1684
upon the weathercock1702
contingent1703
unsettled?1726
fermentable1731
afloat1757
brickle1768
wavy1795
vagarious1798
unsettled1803
fitful1810
metamorphosical1811
undulating1815
tittupya1817
titubant1817
mutative1818
papier mâché1818
teetotum1819
vacillating1822
capricious1823
sensitive1828
quicksilvery1829
unengrafted1829
fluxionala1834
proteiform1833
liquid1835
tottlish1835
kaleidoscopic1846
versative1846
kaleidoscopical1858
tottery1861
choppy1865
variative1874
variational1879
wimbly-wambly1881
fluctuable1882
shifty1882
giveable1884
shifty1884
tippy1886
mutatory1890
upsettable1890
rocky1897
undulatory1897
streaky1898
tottly1905
tipply1906
up and down1907
inertialess1927
sometimey1946
rise-and-fall1950
switchable1961
1594 1st Pt. Raigne Selimus 823 Resolue to venture it, Fortune doth fauour euery bold assay, And t'were a trick of an vnsetled wit Because [etc.].
1607 ‘W. S.’ Puritaine i. 11 Many desprate-vnsetled souldiours.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 66 All th' vnsetled humors of the Land, Rash, inconsiderate, fiery voluntaries. View more context for this quotation
1673 Gentlewomans Compan. 38 These unstaid dimensions, argue unsetled dispositions.
1803 Censor 1 July 84 I am sorry you seem so unsettled; I now..advise you to settle in service.
1837 H. Martineau Society in Amer. II. 63 Young people, who might be ‘unsettled’; that is, not sufficiently subservient.
1837 H. Martineau Society in Amer. III. 136 Too many of them are unsettled, reckless, slovenly.
b. Marked by absence of regularity, uniformity, staidness, or tranquillity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective]
slidinga900
wankleeOE
windyc1000
unsteadfastc1200
fleeting?c1225
loose?c1225
brotelc1315
unstablec1340
varyingc1340
variantc1374
motleyc1380
ungroundedc1380
muablea1393
passiblea1393
remuablea1393
changeablea1398
movablea1398
variablec1397
slidderya1400
ticklec1400
variantc1412
flitting1413
mutable?a1425
movingc1425
flaskisable1430
flickering1430
transmutablec1430
vertible1447
brittlea1450
ficklea1450
permutablec1450
unfirmc1450
uncertain1477
turnable1483
unsteadfast1483
vagrantc1522
inconstant1526
alterable?1531
stirringc1540
slippery1548
various1552
slid?1553
mutala1561
rolling1561
weathery1563
unconstant1568
interchangeable1574
fluctuant1575
stayless1575
transitive1575
voluble1575
changeling1577
queasy1579
desultory1581
huff-puff1582
unstaid1586
vagrant1586
changeful1590
floating1594
Protean1594
unstayed1594
swimming1596
anchorless1597
mobilec1600
ticklish1601
catching1603
labile1603
unrooted1604
quicksilvered1605
versatile1605
insubstantial1607
uncertain1609
brandling1611
rootless1611
squeasy1611
wind-changinga1616
insolid1618
ambulatory1625
versatilous1629
plastic1633
desultorious1637
unbottomed1641
fluid1642
fluent1648
yea-and-nay1648
versipellous1650
flexile1651
uncentred1652
variating1653
chequered1656
slideable1662
transchangeative1662
weathercock-like1663
flicketing1674
fluxa1677
lapsable1678
wanton1681
veering1684
upon the weathercock1702
contingent1703
unsettled?1726
fermentable1731
afloat1757
brickle1768
wavy1795
vagarious1798
unsettled1803
fitful1810
metamorphosical1811
undulating1815
tittupya1817
titubant1817
mutative1818
papier mâché1818
teetotum1819
vacillating1822
capricious1823
sensitive1828
quicksilvery1829
unengrafted1829
fluxionala1834
proteiform1833
liquid1835
tottlish1835
kaleidoscopic1846
versative1846
kaleidoscopical1858
tottery1861
choppy1865
variative1874
variational1879
wimbly-wambly1881
fluctuable1882
shifty1882
giveable1884
shifty1884
tippy1886
mutatory1890
upsettable1890
rocky1897
undulatory1897
streaky1898
tottly1905
tipply1906
up and down1907
inertialess1927
sometimey1946
rise-and-fall1950
switchable1961
?1726 A. Pope Corr. (1956) II. 368 What is commonly call'd an unsettled life, (and what you with too much unjust Severity call a Vagabond Life).
1787 R. Burns Let. 11 June (2001) I. 121 Should I stay, in an unsettled state, at home, I would only dissipate my little fortune.
1824 L.-M. Hawkins Annaline I. 307 High compassion called forth at her unsettled and forlorn condition.
1825 C. Lamb Mem. Liston in Wks. (1908) I. 315 The orthography varying, according to the unsettled usage of the times.
1830 Forrester II. 270 I have already told you..of the unsettled life I led, after the loss of my mother.
c. Unsteady; unquiet.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > [adjective] > unsteady or unquiet
unsettled1794
untranquil1850
rafted1920
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. iii. 65 She..then viewed the face with a long, unsettled gaze.
1810 R. Southey Curse of Kehama xv. 166 How often did she..from unsettled slumber start, and hear The Winds that moan above!
4. Undetermined, unresolved.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > [adjective]
twiredec888
orrathc1175
twofoldc1175
twifoldc1200
waveringc1315
uncertain1382
suspensec1440
mammeringa1450
flowing?1504
floghtering1521
vacillant1521
in a mammering1532
double-minded1552
unstaid1561
unresolute1570
unresolved?1571
staggeringa1577
frittle1579
irresolute1579
cheverel1583
off and on1583
halting1585
unsettleda1593
unresolving1599
demurring1607
waving1611
suspensive1614
hoveringa1616
startling1619
irresolved1621
hesitating1622
indetermined1628
variousa1643
branling1645
hesitant1647
non-sincere1656
hesitatious1657
humdrum1660
shuttlecock1660
yea-and-nay1672
swaying1688
interpendent1708
undetermined1718
Squadronec1720
hesitatorya1734
volanta1734
shilly-shally1734
dilly-dally1749
niffy-naffy1765
wiggle-waggle1778
undecided1779
undecisive1780
indecisive1787
conflicted1789
hesitative1795
undeciding1802
vacillating1814
yea-nay1827
demurrant1836
willy-nilly1839
shilly-shallying1842
oscillative1852
Hamletish1854
vacillatory1854
dilly-dallying1879
thistledown1897
weak-principled1913
not-quite1920
off-again on-again1923
dithery1931
havering1975
a1593 C. Marlowe tr. Lucan First Bk. (1600) i. 264 Now light had quite dissolu'd the mysty night, And Cæsars mind vnsetled musing stood.
1596 L. Keymis Relation 2nd Voy. Guiana To Rdr. sig. A4 The Spaniard is not so simple, vnsetled, and vncertaine in his determinations; as..to make our papers his Bulwarkes.
1618 T. Gainsford True Hist. P. Warbeck ⁋27 Such humility..won the hearts of many as yet unsettled unto him.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 323 Uncertain and unsettl'd [he] still remains, Deep verst in books and shallow in himself. View more context for this quotation
a1768 T. Secker Serm. Several Subj. (1770) IV. 2 What the prophet Elijah said to the Israelites belongs equally to all of this unsettled Character: How long halt ye between two Opinions?
1823 F. D. Hemans Siege Valencia v. 175 Ere yet th' unsettled heart hath closed its long Impatient conflicts.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 360 The chiefs came in an unsettled state of mind, and showed at first much opposition to the conclusion of a treaty.
5.
a. Of the mind: Unbalanced, disturbed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [adjective] > unstable or unbalanced
alienated1529
unsettleda1616
unhinged1732
fucked-up1865
unpoised1872
disturbed1904
screwed-up1943
fouled-up1953
dicked-up1967
fucked1971
screwed1984
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 59 A solemne Ayre, and the best comforter, To an vnsetled fancie. View more context for this quotation
1693 J. Dryden in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires xiv. 282 It shews a manifest unsetled Brain.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 141. ⁋2 A combination of circumstances acting when his imagination was unoccupied, and his judgment unsettled.
1779 Mirror No. 17 Such violent procedure might have effects too dreadful upon a brain which..is already much unsettled.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in Poems 102 Accounts perplex'd,..My Mind unsettled and my Will unmade.
1825 W. Scott Betrothed xi, in Tales Crusaders II. 205 Is his brain unsettled..or is there some dreadful mystery in these broken words?
b. Of persons: Mentally affected.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 327 Do'st thinke I am so muddy, so vnsetled, To appoint my selfe in this vexation? View more context for this quotation
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey II. 174 She said, she was unsettled much at that time.
1823 S. Rogers Foscari in Italy 121 Unnerved, and now unsettled in his mind.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 107/1 A failure so annoyed him, that he became unsettled,..and at length died by his own hand.
6.
a. Not assigned by will.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > settlement of property > [adjective] > not
unset1480
unsettled1671
1671 T. Shadwell Humorists iii Your Estate, by being unsettled, may come to be divided among the Lawyers, after I have killed you.
1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 232 You shall not..command a sixpence of my fortune, which I shall keep unsettled, as a check upon you.
b. Undischarged, unpaid.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > [adjective] > not paid or discharged
unpaid1484
undischarged1585
uncleared1620
unliquidated1675
unsettled1811
unliquidate1818
unrepaid1890
1811 Gen. Regulations & Orders Army 214 The Nature of the Claims of any Man which remain unsettled.
1816 ‘Quiz’ Grand Master ii. 53 Here parcels of unsettl'd bills.
c. Not determined or fixed; not freed from doubt or uncertainty; undecided.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > questionable state or quality > [adjective] > undecided, unsettled
openlOE
undiscussedc1340
unassoiled1387
undetermined1442
unruled1456
unabsoiled1521
undecised1528
undecided1540
unresolved1565
suspensive1575
unprejudged1641
unaccorded1645
indeterminate1656
unagreed1661
unabsolved1721
undeterminate1767
unsettled1844
meedless1896
1844 J. S. Mill (title) Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy.
1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art ii. 88 I haven't made up my mind about the number yet, and there are several other points in the system yet unsettled.
1884 Imperial Dict. (at cited word) An unsettled dispute.
7. Not occupied by settlers.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > [adjective] > not
unbiggedc1175
desert1297
void1338
desolatec1374
unhabited1490
inhabitable?1529
disinhabit1530
depopulate1531
uninhabita1540
unpeopled1547
undwelta1557
uninhabited1571
dishabited1577
dispeopled1577
unhabit1580
disinhabited1600
desertful1601
unmanned1609
inhabited1614
peopleless1621
deserted1629
depopulated1632
unhabitated1648
unseated1662
desolated1693
unpopulous1715
unsettled1724
unpopulated1776
bandless1862
populationless1885
unlived-in1927
1724 Acts Assembly Pennsylv. (1762) I. 102 Exempting..all unsettled Tracts or Parcels of Land, That is to say, such Tracts of Land as..are unseated.
1788 Encycl. Brit. I. 617/2 This immense extent of unappropriated western territory, or vacant unsettled land.
1859 K. Cornwallis Panorama New World I. 154 Those occupying runs in the then ‘unsettled’ districts.
1869 J. A. Froude Educ. in Short Stud. (1871) 328 A new and unsettled country.
Derivatives
unˈsettledly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > [adverb]
inconstantly1549
changeably1567
changingly1580
variably?1591
fickle1596
unsettledlyc1598
mutably1611
changefully1615
up and down1643
veeringly1847
varyinglyc1862
kaleidoscopically1866
shiftily1878
modificationally1908
variationally1961
c1598 King James VI & I Basilicon Doron (1944) I. iii. 180 Nather looking sillelie lyke a stupide pedante, nor unsetledlie.
1651 N. Culpeper Semeiotica Uranica Ep. A 3 b That so you may..not float unsetledly upon the waves of Errour.
1685 Case of Doubting Conscience 4 The Ballance no longer hangs in aequilibrio, or moves unsetledly this way or that.
1725 N. Bailey tr. Erasmus All Familiar Colloquies 35 Whenever any one that is your Superiour speaks to you,..look neither..saucily, malapertly nor unsettledly.
1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet II. vii. 154 If I thought you were..unfortunate in former undertakings..which might cause you to live unsettledly.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.a1593- glandalveolus
- glandarious
- glandbearing
- glandcell
- glandciliate
- glandciliated
- glandcock
- glandcyst
- glanddotted
- glandduct
- glander
- glander-pest
- glander-pustule
- glandered
- glanderous
- glanderpest
- glanderpustule
- glanders
- glanders of the chine
- glanderses
- glandes
- glandfever
- glandfollicle
- glandi-similar
- glandiferous