unˈeasy, a.
[un-1 7.]
1. Not conducing to ease or comfort; productive of physical discomfort. Also in fig. context. † Occas. const. to (a person).
| c 1290 Beket 1446 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 148 Swiþe on-aisi [v.r. unese] was is brech a-boute for-to ride. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clxix. (Bodl. MS.), Whete þat groweth in vnmoderat tyme & vnesy wedre & tyme is vnperfite. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 265 If the skin be newly fretted off by wearing some uneasie shoes. 1660 N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. ii. (1682) 21 Golden fetters are as uneasie as those of Iron. 1713 Guardian No. 32 ¶7 [He] appeared in Cloths, that were so strait and uneasy to him, that he seemed to move with Pain. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. v. 183 The heat in..the tropics must be much more troublesome and uneasy. 1820 Keats Hyperion ii. 64 Above her, on a crag's uneasy shelve,..Shadow'd Enceladus. 1860 Hawthorne Marb. Faun viii, A minute's walk will transport the visitor from the small, uneasy lava stones. |
† b. Causing mental discomfort for disquietude; unpleasant, disagreeable. Obs.
Very common in 18th cent., freq. with to.
| 1483 Gower's Conf. (Caxton) v. 459 Wherof it is y{supt} he conceyueth That ylke vnesy [orig. unsely] maladye, The which is cleped jelousye. 1669 Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 790 Till I knew my Fate..I should be in Horrors, whose visible Effects were the least uneasie part of them. 1691 Stillingfleet Charge 52 Nothing will be more uneasie to me, than to be forced to make use of any Severity against you. 1744 Johnson Let. to J. Levett 3 Jan., Not to have the satisfaction of waiting upon [you]..will be a great and uneasy disappointment. 1788 C. Smith Emmeline (1816) IV. 240 The anxiety of Delamere..is uneasy even to me. 1798 ― Yng. Philos. IV. 209 My mother,..I thought, wished..to conceal something from me; that something then must be uneasy. |
c. Characterized by absence of ease or comfort; suggesting or manifesting want of ease in body or mind.
| a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vi. clxxii. 167 Alurede, beynge thus ouerset in multytude of enemyes,..ladde an vncertayne lyfe, and vneasy. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 36 Where was a Caue..Deepe, darke, vneasie, dolefull, comfortlesse. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §55 They..made the residence of any amongst them very uneasy, and very insecure, who were but suspected by them not to wish well to their Proceedings. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 295 His Spear..He walkt with to support uneasie steps Over the burning Marle. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. v. 184 That uneasy and suffocating sensation. 1780 Mirror No. 88, I soon found my situation at the university a very hard and uneasy one. 1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. iii. 75 He sank into an uneasy slumber. 1893 T. F. Tout Edw. I, 54, The surgeons exchanged uneasy whispers. |
† 2. Of persons: Troublesome, annoying, disagreeable, unaccommodating (to others). Obs.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 87 Euere þei beeþ vnesi [L. inquieti] to hir owne neiheboures oþer to strong [= strange] men. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) iv. xxxiv. 83 Shirreues shold speke for the peple, so that they be nought mysfaren ne ouercharged with ouer sore seruyce ne by vnesy lordes. 1652 Nicholas Papers (Camden) 291, I am much afraid that Mr. Attorney will be very unquiet with his associates and uneasy to the K[ing] in council. 1678 Dryden All for Love ii. i. 26, I kept you far from an uneasie Wife. a 1715 Burnet Own Time ii. xii. (1897) I. 481 He was cynical in the whole administration, and uneasy to the king in every thing. 1737 Whiston Josephus, Antiq. i. xviii. §4 Not caring to be uneasy to his son,..he resolved to be silent. |
† b. Unfriendly; on bad terms. Obs.—1
| 1725 P. Walkden Diary (1866) 15, I..discoursed them concerning the division that is among them, and they both own they had been uneasy, but were now reconciled. |
† c. Displeased, dissatisfied. Obs.
| a 1715 Burnet Own Time iii. vii. (1900) II. 125 The king was uneasy at this, and sent them several very angry messages. Ibid. xvii. 449 The king seemed to be so uneasy with him, that he was glad to send him away from the court. |
d. Uncompromising, rigid.
| 1819 Byron Juan i. lxii, Ladies even of the most uneasy virtue Prefer a spouse whose age is short of thirty. |
3. Not easy or simple; difficult, hard, troublesome. Now rare. (Common in 17th c.)
In first quot. = ‘having difficulty’.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. vi. (Tollem. MS.), The thycker and more trowbled spirite that a man hathe, the uneasyer [L. tanto difficilior] and the feblier of syghte he is. Ibid. vi. xx. (Bodl. MS.), In olde menne abstinence of mete is eth and esy, and in ȝonge menne & children hard and vnesye. 1570 Levins Manip. 108 Vneasy, difficilis. 1591 Savile Tac. Hist. i. xxi. 50 By lewdenesse and craft (a matter not vneasy) [he] bare it away from good men. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World i. iii. 139 About this time the Spartans beganne to perceive how uneasie a thing it would bee to maintaine the warre against men as good as themselves. 1663 Boyle Consid. Usef. Nat. Philos. ii. (1664) 348 To keep the rectified Spirit..is more uneasie, than any thing but trial would make one think. a 1724 in Ramsay's Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 22 If I can but get it [sc. a sword] drawn, Which will be right uneasy. 1851 Helps Comp. Solit. iii. 37 By a not uneasy diversion of mind, I turned to another branch. 1900–1 in Eng. Dial. Dict. |
b. Const. with int. (active or passive).
| (a) a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 241 The kyng of England answered, that the tounes of Flanders were..verie uneasie to bee kepte when they were conquered. 1603 H. Crosse Vertues Commw. (1878) 45 A way vneasie to be trackt, hard to finde. 1666 Boyle Orig. Forms & Qual. 268 Much more elaborate, and therefore more uneasie to be restored, then that of many other Concretes. |
| (b) 1570 Buchanan Admonitioun Wks. (S.T.S.) 26 It is not vneasie to persave..that yai meane..ye deid of ye King. 1594 Sylvester Monodia 82 Till time..had worne away Her sorrowe's edge, uneasie to allay. 1621 Quarles Div. Poems, Esther Wks. (Grosart) II. 58/2 To him there's nought vneasie to atchieue. 1690 T. Burnet Theory Earth II. 163 It will be very uneasie to give a satisfactory account..of the regeneration. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe ii, ‘The road will be uneasy to find,’ answered Gurth. |
† c. Of ways, etc.: Difficult to traverse on account of ruggedness, steepness, or other obstacles. Obs.
| 1550 T. Hoby Trav. (1902) 46 It is a very uneasie waye by the reason of the great quantitie of great and sharpe stones that are upon yt. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. vi. 221 As he strived to gette vp a way which was somewhat rough and vneasie, hee was forced to lay holde vpon a braunch. 1697 Dryden æneis xi. 458 The flood, constrained within a scanty space, Roars horrible along the uneasy race. 1756 Nugent Gr. Tour, Italy III. 38 Gentlemen..are in the wrong to choose to travel there in winter, for the ways are uneasy at that time, and dangerous. |
† d. Difficult to handle. Obs.—0
| 1611 Cotgr., Inhabile,.. vnweldie, vneasie, vnhandsome. |
4. Uncomfortable or disturbed in mind; anxious, apprehensive.
| 1680 Burnet Rochester Pref. A 5 b, He..seemed not uneasie at my frequent Visits. 1693 in Verney Memoirs (1907) II. 486 Nothing but the want of your blessing can make me uneasie, for otherwise I am perfectly happy. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 362 The Spaniard..found himself very uneasy in the Night, and could by no Means get any Sleep. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. ix. 230 We began to be uneasy for her safety. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia v. i, It contributed to render her thoughtful and uneasy. 1832 H. Martineau Ireland 38 His countenance brightened,..but he still seemed uneasy till he had put one question. 1859 W. Collins Q. of Hearts I. 117, I was..as anxious and as uneasy as our guest. |
b. Suffering physical discomfort.
| 1725 N. Robinson Th. Physick 276 If he be very restless and uneasy, let the following Prescriptions be exhibited. |
c. Of animals: Restless, unsettled.
| 1855 Poultry Chron. II. 449/2 Should they not be fed at regular intervals, it will tend to make them uneasy and discontented. 1897 ‘Mrs. Rayner’ Type-writer Girl xix, Like..restless Spanish sheep in spring, when they herd and leap, uneasy to be driven to their pastures in the mountains. |
d. transf. Of things: Moving in a disturbed or unquiet manner.
| 1816 L. Hunt Rimini iii. 61 Scattering smiles on this uneasy earth. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 62 Weights at the extremities cause a ship to be uneasy in a sea⁓way. 1894 Crockett Raiders 103 The upper arch of the cave is not less than forty feet above the floor of uneasy water. |
5. quasi-adv. Uneasily.
| 1596 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle 120 Let your axeltrees..fill close the nathes of the wheeles, for when they gaggle or shake, they goe vneasie. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen IV, iii. i. 31 Vneasie lyes the Head, that weares a Crowne. 1684 Contempl. St. Man ii. viii. (1699) 226 You..will perswade your self, that you never laid so uneasie in your whole Life before. 1807 Southey Espriella's Lett. I. 176 The farmer told him it was but an uneasy-going beast. 1862 Thackeray Philip xxviii, [So] thinks the general, rolling uneasy on the midnight pillow. |