un·stead·y

[uhn-sted-ee] adjective, verb, un·stead·ied, un·stead·y·ing.
adjective
1.
not steady or firm; unstable; shaky: an unsteady hand.
2.
fluctuating or wavering: an unsteady flame; unsteady prices.
3.
irregular or uneven: an unsteady development.
verb (used with object)
4.
to make unsteady.

Origin:
1525–35; un-1 + steady

un·stead·i·ly, adverb
un·stead·i·ness, noun


1. See unsettled. 2. vacillating, flickering.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Unsteady is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
to run away hurriedly; flee.
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World English Dictionary
unsteady (ʌnˈstɛdɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  not securely fixed: an unsteady foothold
2.  (of behaviour, etc) lacking constancy; erratic
3.  without regularity: an unsteady rhythm
4.  (of a manner of walking, etc) precarious, staggering, as from intoxication
 
vb , -steadies, -steadying, -steadied
5.  (tr) to make unsteady
 
un'steadily
 
adv
 
un'steadiness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

unsteady
1598, from un- (1) "not" + steady (adj.). Cf. O.Fris. unstadich, Ger. unstätig, M.Du. onstadich.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
In both countries frustration over the unsteady direction of change has tended,
  perhaps unfairly, to overshadow real gains.
Patients have an unsteady gait and difficulty walking normally and keeping
  their balance.
The boards had snapped here and there, and the footing was unsteady.
Our behavior is always move in unsteady manner or say irrational way it change
  with situation.
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