unscathed

adjective

un·​scathed ˌən-ˈskāt͟hd 

: wholly unharmed : not injured

Did you know?

Can you be scathed instead of unscathed?

We often hear of a person coming through some difficult circumstance, or dangerous endeavor, and “emerging unscathed,” yet we rarely hear of anyone “emerging scathed.” Why is this? Scathe is a word: it may function as a noun (“harm, injury”) or as a verb (“to do harm to,” “to assail with withering denunciation”). It is not as commonly found as it once was, and now primarily serves as the basis for the adjective scathing (“bitterly severe”) or for the latter portion of unscathed. So you can say that someone “emerged scathed” if you wish, but be advised that it will have a curiously archaic sound to it.

Examples of unscathed in a Sentence

She escaped from the wreckage unscathed.

The administration was left relatively unscathed by the scandal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Downtown was mostly unscathed, but the River Arts District, just west of downtown on the banks of the French Broad River, was hit hard. —Graham Averill, Outside, 16 Sep. 2025

In the United States, the Epstein scandal has devolved into a mere political soap opera, in which the victims are largely forgotten and Trump is so far unscathed. —Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2025

While the galaxies slipped by relatively unscathed, that hot gas was slowed considerably by the collision. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2025

Unless one of them emerges largely unscathed, the winner of the Mountain West could be right at the top of the Group of Five pecking order. —Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 10 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unscathed

• bathed

Kids Definition

unscathed

adjective

un·​scathed ˌən-ˈskāt͟hd 

ˈən-

: completely unharmed : not injured