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UNEVEN
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I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Lacking consistency
Example:
the golfer hit the ball well but his putting was spotty
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
inconsistent (displaying a lack of consistency)
Derivation:
unevenness (the quality of being uneven and lacking uniformity)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(of a contest or contestants) not fairly matched as opponents
Example:
vaudeville...waged an uneven battle against the church
Synonyms:
mismatched; uneven
Classified under:
Similar:
unequal (poorly balanced or matched in quantity or value or measure)
Derivation:
unevenness (the quality of being unbalanced)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture
Example:
wood with an uneven grain
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
crinkled; crinkly; rippled; wavelike; wavy (uneven by virtue of having wrinkles or waves)
cross-grained; curly-grained; wavy-grained (of timber; having fibers running irregularly rather than in parallel)
irregular ((of a surface or shape); not level or flat or symmetrical)
jagged; jaggy; scraggy (having a sharply uneven surface or outline)
lumpy (having lumps; not smooth and even in texture)
out of true; untrue (not accurately fitted; not level)
patchy (irregular or uneven in quality, texture, etc.)
pebble-grained ((of leather) having a rough surface as the result of being treated with a patterned roller)
ragged (having an irregular outline)
unparallel (not straight or parallel)
Also:
rough; unsmooth (having or caused by an irregular surface)
unsteady (subject to change or variation)
Attribute:
evenness; invariability (a quality of uniformity and lack of variation)
Antonym:
even (being level or straight or regular and without variation as e.g. in shape or texture; or being in the same plane or at the same height as something else (i.e. even with))
Derivation:
unevenness (the quality of being uneven and lacking uniformity)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not divisible by two
Synonyms:
odd; uneven
Classified under:
Adjectives
Sense 5
Meaning:
Variable and recurring at irregular intervals
Example:
uneven spacing
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unsteady (subject to change or variation)
Context examples:
Repeating no, and not the least, and other short assurances to the same purport, Doctor Strong jogged on before us, at a queer, uneven pace; and we followed: Mr. Wickfield, looking grave, I observed, and shaking his head to himself, without knowing that I saw him.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Thinking of "ABCDE" can help you remember what to watch for: • Asymmetry - the shape of one half does not match the other • Border - the edges are ragged, blurred or irregular • Color - the color is uneven and may include shades of black, brown and tan • Diameter - there is a change in size, usually an increase • Evolving - the mole has changed over the past few weeks or months
(Melanoma, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
A new study using NASA's Spitzer and Swift missions, as well as the Belgian AstroLAB IRIS observatory, suggests that the cause of the dimming over long periods is likely an uneven dust cloud moving around the star.
(Mysterious Dimming of Tabby's Star May Be Caused by Dust, NASA)
That which gave me most uneasiness among these maids of honour (when my nurse carried me to visit then) was, to see them use me without any manner of ceremony, like a creature who had no sort of consequence: for they would strip themselves to the skin, and put on their smocks in my presence, while I was placed on their toilet, directly before their naked bodies, which I am sure to me was very far from being a tempting sight, or from giving me any other emotions than those of horror and disgust: their skins appeared so coarse and uneven, so variously coloured, when I saw them near, with a mole here and there as broad as a trencher, and hairs hanging from it thicker than packthreads, to say nothing farther concerning the rest of their persons.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
"Oh, oh, oh! What have you done? I'm spoiled! I can't go! My hair, oh, my hair!" wailed Meg, looking with despair at the uneven frizzle on her forehead.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
It was a rugged course, rocky and uneven, yet the two knights, choosing their men, dashed onwards at the top of their speed, while the gallant Spaniards flew as swiftly to meet them.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Demi's miracle of mechanical skill, though the cover wouldn't shut, Rob's footstool had a wiggle in its uneven legs that she declared was soothing, and no page of the costly book Amy's child gave her was so fair as that on which appeared in tipsy capitals, the words—To dear Grandma, from her little Beth.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
