unstably
- adverb
- /ʌnˈsteɪbli/
:
inestablemente
- She balanced the stack of books unstably, and it toppled over with a loud thud.
Examples
-
Fifty-six percent were literally homeless, and the remainder were unstably housed, many "couch surfing" (i.e., temporarily staying with friends or relatives).
Academic text (2012) -
The slippery egg halves rocked unstably, and the mixture stuck to her spoon.
Fiction book (1993) -
In terms of social stability outcome measures, Table 5 indicates that heroin and cocaine users most often reported being unstably housed.
Academic text (2009) -
For example, those who used three or more different substances had 80% increased odds or greater of being unstably housed or having a food need compared to non-drug users.
Academic text (2009) -
The vase sat unstably on the edge of the shelf, making it prone to fall.
-
Due to the poor construction, the ladder leaned unstably against the wall.
Synonyms
11
7.0
In a way that is not steady and could fall
7
3.9
In a way that is not steady or balanced
In a way that is not safe or firm and may not last
In a weak way that makes things break or fail easily
Antonyms
How Stable
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word unstably is made from un- ('not') and stable ('firm' or 'standing'), with -ly to make it describe how something happens. So it literally means 'not standing firm', which is why we use unstably for something likely to move, change, or fall.