unsteady

1 lacking in steadiness or regularity of occurrence a year of unsteady economic growth Synonyms aperiodic, casual, catchy, choppy, discontinuous, episodic (also episodical), erratic, intermittent, irregular, occasional, spasmodic, spastic, sporadic, spotty, fitfulRelated Words convulsive, sudden, violent; broken, disconnected, fragmentary, interrupted; aimless, arbitrary, desultory, haphazard, hit-and-miss, hit-or-miss, odd, random, scattered, slapdash, stray; capricious, changeful, changing, flickery, fluctuating, fluid, inconstant, mercurial, mutable, temperamental, uncertain, unpredictable, unsettled, unstable, varying, wavering; changeable, fickle, variable, volatileNear Antonyms changeless, equable, even, stable, stationary, uniform; unchanging, unvarying, unwavering; methodical (also methodic), orderly, systematic; unrelenting, unremittingAntonyms constant, continuous, habitual, periodic, regular, repeated, steady

2 likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly in the days of sailing ships, mariners were constantly at the mercy of unsteady winds Synonyms capricious, changeable, changeful, flickery, fluctuating, fluid, inconsistent, inconstant, mercurial, mutable, skittish, temperamental, uncertain, unpredictable, unsettled, unstable, fickle, variable, volatileRelated Words aimless, arbitrary, desultory, erratic, haphazard, hit-or-miss, irregular, random, scattered, slapdash, stray; ambivalent, hesitating, shaky, shilly-shally, shilly-shallying, vacillating, wavering; dicey, undependable, unreliable, untrustworthy; adaptable, mobile, protean, versatileNear Antonyms equable, even, uniform; abiding, durable, lasting, permanent, persistent; dependable, reliable, sure, tried, tried-and-true, true, trustworthy, trustyAntonyms certain, changeless, constant, immutable, invariable, predictable, settled, stable, stationary, steady, unchangeable, unchanging, unvarying

3 not being in or able to maintain a state of balance cautiously climbed up the unsteady ladder Synonyms unbalanced, unstableRelated Words rocky, shaky, tippy, tipsy, wavery, wobbly (also wabbly), wonky [British]; infirm, insecure, precarious, unsound; doddering, doddery, jiggling, jiggly, rickety, staggery, teetering, tottering, tottery; askew, awry, cockeyed, lopsided, off-kilter, unevenNear Antonyms even, level, straight; sound, sturdy, substantialAntonyms balanced, equilibrated, stabilized, stable, steady

4 not staying constant unsteady business conditions that rattled investors Synonyms changing, erratic, fluctuating, irregular, unequal, unstable, uneven, varyingRelated Words capricious, changeable, changeful, choppy, fickle, fluid, inconsistent, inconstant, mercurial, mutable, uncertain, unsettled, variable, volatileNear Antonyms regularAntonyms changeless, constant, stable, steady, unchanging, unvarying