uneasy

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈiːzi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: un‧easy
• Rhymes: -iːzi

Etymology 1

From Middle English unesy, equivalent to un- +‎ easy. Merged with Middle English unethe, uneathe (“difficult, not easy”). See uneath.

Adjective

uneasy (comparative uneasier, superlative uneasiest)

1. (rare) Not easy; difficult.

Translations

Not easy; difficult

Bulgarian: труден (bg) (truden) Catalan: difícil (ca), complicat (ca) Finnish: vaikea (fi) French: pas facile, difficile (fr) German: uneinfach Indonesian: sulit (id) Maori: uaua Romanian: dificil (ro), complicat (ro)

Etymology 2

From Middle English unesy, unaisie (“not comforting”), from un- + esy (“comfortable, at ease”). More at easy.

Adjective

uneasy (comparative more uneasy or uneasier, superlative most uneasy or uneasiest)

1. Restless; disturbed by pain, anxiety.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nervous

   I've been uneasy about your friend ever since I met him. Are you sure we can trust him?

   • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 17, in Well Tackled!‎:

     Commander Birch was a trifle uneasy when he found there was more than a popple on the sea; it was, in fact, distinctly choppy.

2. Not easy in manner; constrained

   Synonyms: stiff, awkward, ungraceful

   He was behaving in an uneasy way.

3. Causing discomfort or constraint

Derived terms

• uneasy lies the head that wears a crown

 

Related terms

• unease

Translations

restless; disturbed by pain, anxiety

Albanian: i shqetësuar (sq) Bulgarian: тревожен (bg) (trevožen), неспокоен (bg) (nespokoen) Finnish: levoton (fi), rauhaton (fi), ahdistunut (fi) German: unbehaglich (de) Greek: ανήσυχος (el) (anísychos) Indonesian: gelisah (id) Irish: anacair Latin: anxius (la) Maori: māihi, pāihi, mawera (in mind), ārangi, pakaihi, anipā, āwangawanga, hopohopo, manawarau, tūmatatenga, hārato, hikirangi, koromāungaunga, maniore, tīhengi Plautdietsch: onheimlich, beklommen Scottish Gaelic: an-fhoiseil Vietnamese: nao nao (vi)

not easy in manner; constrained

Bulgarian: неловък (bg) (nelovǎk), стеснителен (bg) (stesnitelen) Finnish: vaivaantunut, kiusaantunut Persian: معذب (fa) (mo'azzab)