unanchored

Examples

• All

• During the storm, the boat became unanchored and drifted away from the dock.

• We specified some of the hidden variables to have anchors, but we also left some of them to be unanchored, meaning, you know, free variables.

  MIT OpenCourseWare

• Without any guidance or rules, the project felt unanchored and directionless.

Synonyms

U

untied

vsunanchored

7 1.0

Loose and not fastened so laces or knots hang open

is more general, applying to any absence of being fixed or secured

U

untethered

vsunanchored

5 6.7

Not tied to anything and able to move freely

includes that physical freedom but also lacking figurative fixation

U

unmoored

vsunanchored

3 7.0

Not held in place and often feels unstable or uncertain

is the broader idea of not being fixed rather than instability alone

U

unattached

vsunanchored

2 4.2

Not fixed to anything so it can move freely

is broader, also lacking any physical or figurative fixed support

U

unbound

vsunanchored

• Specialized

1 7.2

A molecule free in a liquid or blood, not attached to others

is wider, meaning not fixed or held in place in any sense

U

unaffixed

vsunanchored

7.2

Not attached to something or fastened in place

stresses lack of being fixed or held in place including figurative use

U

unfastened

vsunanchored

2.4

Not tied, closed, or attached

is more general, applying to any lack of being fixed or held

U

untethered from

vsunanchored

7.0

Free from any tie and able to move or act freely

covers that release but also any missing fixed or held position

U

unjoined

vsunanchored

5.4

Not connected to another thing, like a beam or wire

is broader, referring to absence of any fixed or held connection

How Anchored

fixed

1.0

stable

473 2.3

unsteady

16 3.3

unanchored

6.4

adrift

7 4.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology