unbalanced
Meaning
not giving equal attention, importance, or treatment to all things or people; biased or unfair.
not steady or stable; likely to fall or shake.
(of a person's mind or emotions) not in a normal or stable state; disturbed.
Structure
Usage
the news report was criticized for its unbalanced coverage of the political debate.
the unbalanced load caused the washing machine to vibrate violently during the spin cycle.
after the traumatic event, he felt emotionally unbalanced for several months.
Etymology
The word 'unbalanced' is a Modern English formation built upon the older word 'balance'. The core concept of 'balance' originates from the Latin 'bilanx', literally "having two scales," which described the instrument for weighing. This concrete meaning evolved into the abstract sense of a state of equilibrium or stability. The addition of the negative prefix 'un-' and the adjectival suffix '-ed' transforms this noun into an adjective describing the absence or loss of that equilibrium, whether in a physical, mental, or metaphorical sense. The logic of the word is transparent: it directly states the condition of "not being in balance."
Analysis
- un: a prefix of germanic origin (old english) meaning "not," used to form negatives. - balance: from latin 'bilanx' (bi- "two" + lanx "scale, dish"), via old french 'balance', meaning a state of equilibrium. - ed: a suffix of germanic origin (old english) used to form adjectives from nouns or verbs, indicating a state or condition.