Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

1 ADJ If your thoughts, wishes, or feelings are unspoken , you do not speak about them. □  His face was expressionless, but Alex felt the unspoken criticism. □  The other unspoken fear here is of an outbreak of hooliganism.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] When there is an unspoken agreement or understanding between people, their behaviour shows that they agree about something or understand it, even though they have never spoken about it. □  There had been an unspoken agreement between them that he would not call for her at Seymour House.

un|sport|ing /ʌ nspɔː ^r t I ŋ/ ADJ If you describe someone playing a game as unsporting , you are critical of them because they have done something that is unfair to their opponent. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  Players can be fined and even disqualified for unsporting actions.

un|sta|ble /ʌ nste I b ^ə l/

1 ADJ You can describe something as unstable if it is likely to change suddenly, especially if this creates difficulty or danger. □  After the fall of Pitt in 1801 there was a decade of unstable government. □  The situation is unstable and potentially dangerous.

2 ADJ Unstable objects are likely to move or fall. □  Both clay and sandstone are unstable rock formations.

3 ADJ If people are unstable , their emotions and behaviour keep changing because their minds are disturbed or upset. □  He was emotionally unstable.

un|stat|ed /ʌnste I t I d/ ADJ You say that something is unstated when it has not been expressed in words. □  The implication was plain, if left unstated. □  An additional, unstated reason for his resignation may have been a lawsuit filed against him.

un|steady /ʌnste di/

1 ADJ If you are unsteady , you have difficulty doing something, for example walking, because you cannot completely control your legs or your body. □  The boy was very unsteady and had staggered around when he got up. □  He poured coffee into the mugs, and with an unsteady hand, held one of them out to David. ●  un|steadi|ly /ʌnste d I li/ ADV [ADV with v] □  She pulled herself unsteadily from the bed to the dresser.

2 ADJ If you describe something as unsteady , you mean that it is not regular or stable, but unreliable or unpredictable. □  His voice was unsteady and only just audible.

3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Unsteady objects are not held, fixed, or balanced securely. □  …a slightly unsteady item of furniture.

un|stick /ʌnst I k/ (unsticks , unsticking , unstuck )

1 VERB If you unstick something or if it unsticks , it becomes separated from the thing that it was stuck to. □ [V n] Mike shook his head, to unstick his hair from his sweating forehead. □ [V ] The stewards' badges do not unstick from a car and therefore cannot be passed around.

2 → see also unstuck

un|stint|ing /ʌnst I nt I ŋ/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Unstinting help, care, or praise is great in amount or degree and is given generously. □  The task was made easier by the unstinting help extended to me.

un|stop|pable /ʌnstɒ pəb ^ə l/ ADJ Something that is unstoppable cannot be prevented from continuing or developing. □  The progress of science is unstoppable. □  …the country's seemingly unstoppable economy.

un|stressed /ʌ nstre st/ ADJ If a word or syllable is unstressed , it is pronounced without emphasis. [TECHNICAL ] □  …the unstressed syllable of words like 'above', 'surround' or 'arrive'.