unsafeadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈseɪf/, U.S. /ˌənˈseɪf/ 1. Not enjoying safety; exposed to danger or risk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > exposed to danger
unsurea1400
periclitate1525
dangeredc1604
endangered1609
unsafea1616
perdua1625
insecure1655
imperilled1656
unsecure1656
naufrageous1694
perilled1819
jeopardized1864
periculant1882
at-risk1965
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. ii. 33 Vnsafe the while, that wee must laue Our Honors in these flattering streames. View more context for this quotation
a1618 W. Raleigh Remains (1664) 151 People that were..un-safe, or un~sure for their lives.
1676 M. Hale Contempl. Moral & Divine i. 277 Which makes the man's estate unquiet and unsafe, because he hath many competitors.
1892 Ld. Tennyson Foresters iv. i I have let them know Their lives unsafe in..our woods.
2.
a. Of actions, etc.: Involving, or not free from, danger or risk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > full of risk
adventurousa1375
jeopardous1451
jeopardious?1504
hazardous1549
venturous1570
hazardly1575
chanceful1591
unsafe1597
venturable1597
hazard1601
desperatea1616
hazardable1618
hazardful1626
discriminous1658
venturesome1661
precarious1727
riskful1793
risky1813
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xlii. 84 Yet others should be taught how vnsafe it was to continue his friends.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. i. 44 Let's think't vnsafe To come into the cry. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. ii. 33 These dangerous, vnsafe Lunes i' th' King. View more context for this quotation
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 84 This great number of slaves make it unsafe to walk the streets..unarm'd.
1722 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 665 Our Assembly..declared the unsafe tendency of several propositions advanced by them.
1798 S. Lee Young Lady's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales II. 168 [He] thought its appearance so unsafe, that..he chose to mount a horse.
1836 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece III. 259 A small number whom it appeared unsafe to trust.
1864 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene 427 Rain water may be unsafe, if the tanks are not clean.
b. Of ways or places: Dangerous from natural or other causes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective]
plightlyOE
wothea1300
perilousc1300
wickeda1375
plightfula1400
dreadfulc1400
parlous?a1425
shrewd1482
danger1488
dangerous1490
periculous1533
dangerful1548
dangersome1567
craggy1582
perilsome1593
endangering1601
unsafe1621
imperilous1645
ugly1654
warm1726
neck-break1756
wanchancy1768
uncanny1785
unchancy1786
nasty1828
unhealthy1915
windy1919
1621 in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1618–21 (1906) 274 The tyme of winter had made the wayes unsafe.
1650 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) I. 464 The wayes are everywhere unsafe for travell.
1686 A. Horneck Crucified Jesus xxii. 661 Where the roads are unsafe, there men carry swords.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson iii. ii. 315 Full of sharp-pointed coral rocks, which..render it a very unsafe anchorage.
1781 W. Cowper Heroism 33 Oh, bliss precarious, and unsafe retreats!
1835 W. Wordsworth Russ. Fugitive ii. ii, in Yarrow Revisited 128 And midway in the unsafe morass, A single Island rose Of firm dry ground.
1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn I. xx. 188 While Nero..made the streets..unsafe with riot and assault.
c. unsafe period n. the part of the menstrual cycle during which conception is most likely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > reproductive cycle > [noun] > menstrual cycle
safe period1900
postmenstruum1910
premenstruum1910
mid-cycle1952
unsafe period1961
paramenstruum1966
rhythm1974
1961 G. Greene Burnt-out Case iii. i. 82 He sometimes allowed her to be alone during her monthly or unsafe periods.
1969 Times 20 Nov. 3/3 The Roman Catholic Church has revised its ideas about the..‘unsafe period’ and now makes it four days around the mid-point of the female cycle.
3. Not to be trusted to; unreliable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective]
unsicker?c1225
uncertaina1382
unsadc1384
untristya1387
untrustya1387
unsurec1412
falliblec1425
slipperc1430
ficklea1450
frivol1488
slidder?a1500
casuala1535
slippery1548
slippy1548
failable1561
doubtful1562
lubricious1584
slope1587
queasy1589
unconfirmedc1592
nice1598
catching1603
loose1603
precary1606
ambiguous1612
treacherous1612
unsafe1615
unsureda1616
precarious1626
lubric1631
dubious1635
lubricous1646
unestablished1646
unfixed1654
unsecure?a1685
unreliable1810
unproven1836
untrustworthy1846
shady1848
wobbly1877
Kaffir1899
independable1921
dodgy1961
temperamental1962
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 92 A number of wracks..did miserably testifie the unsafe protection of that harbour.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iii. iv. 78 No obstacle, no incredulous or vnsafe circumstance,..can come betweene me, and the full prospect of my hopes. View more context for this quotation
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. ii. iii. Rule 14 §2 The topick of traditions..was..false in many things, and therefore unsafe in all questions.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 635 Land..on which it is deemed unsafe to sow grain, on account of the worm.
1863 R. S. Poole in W. Smith Dict. Bible II. 869/2 Such mere similarity of sound is a most unsafe guide.
1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 34 We say ‘As unsafe as a bank’, after what has occurred in Melbourne.
Draft additions 1993
4. Law. Of a verdict, conviction, etc.: open to the possibility of being proved a miscarriage of justice. Frequently in unsafe and unsatisfactory.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > judging > [adjective] > wrong or mistaken
false1656
unsafe1904
unsatisfactory1907
1904 Rep. Comm. Inquiry case Mr. A. Beck 332 in Parl. Papers 1905 (Cd. 2315) LXII. 465 The new evidence, without establishing the innocence of the prisoner, throws sufficient doubt on the conviction to make it unsafe to detain the prisoner.
1907 F. E. Smith in Hansard Commons 29 July 631 To substitute words directing the Court to allow the appeal if they think the verdict is, under all the circumstances of the case, unsafe or unsatisfactory.
1962 Criminal Appeal Rep. 46 34 The court, though with great hesitation, has come to the conclusion that it would be unsafe to allow this conviction to stand.
1973 Times 16 Oct. 2/4 Lord Justice Megaw..held that Mr Gray's conviction was ‘unsafe and unsatisfactory’ after receiving fresh evidence.
1989 Times 21 Mar. 5/8 There was nothing unsafe about the verdicts.
Draft additions March 2006
Designating unprotected sexual activity that carries a significant risk of unplanned pregnancy or the transmission of a sexually transmitted infection (esp. HIV); spec. designating penetrative sex without the use of a condom. Chiefly in unsafe sex. Cf. safe sex n. (b) at safe adj. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1981 Associated Press Newswire (Nexis) 13 Mar. He warned members of the gay community against some unsafe sexual practices.
1984 N.Y. Times 10 Oct. a18/1 An April ordinance went into effect banning ‘unsafe’ sexual activity at sex parlors and bathhouses.
1994 Palm Beach (Florida) Post 19 Apr. 17 a The majority of students will see a friend pregnant and be scared into seeing the reality of unsafe sex.
1999 M. Silcott Rave Amer. vi. 174 The combination of unsafe sex and the drugs could lead to a super-AIDS strain that is resistant to the treatment.
2005 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 29 Sept. 5 The findings underlined the need for renewed national efforts to reinforce the public health message about unsafe sex.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1597