unbowed

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ʌnˈbaʊd/ UK /ʌnˈbaʊd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
not subdued or defeated; remaining proud and defiant

Bloodied but unbowed, the team refused to concede.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not subdued or defeated;... unsubduedundefeateddefiantunconqueredproud unyielding

Opposites

bowedsubdueddefeated cowed

Word family

Related forms bow bowed unbend

Etymology

From un- ('not') + bowed, past participle of bow ('to bend down, submit'), from Old English bugan ('to bend, stoop, submit'), from Proto-Germanic *beugan, from Proto-Indo-European *bheugh- ('to bend').

un- Old English bugan Old English *bheugh- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# unbowed

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ʌnˈbaʊd/
**IPA (UK):** /ʌnˈbaʊd/

## Meanings
1. not subdued or defeated; remaining proud and defiant

## Examples
- Bloodied but unbowed, the team refused to concede.

## Synonyms
- unsubdued
- undefeated
- defiant
- unconquered
- proud
- unyielding

## Antonyms
- bowed
- subdued
- defeated
- cowed

## Related Forms
- bow
- bowed
- unbend

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: bugan
- Root: *bheugh-

## Etymology
From un- ('not') + bowed, past participle of bow ('to bend down, submit'), from Old English bugan ('to bend, stoop, submit'), from Proto-Germanic *beugan, from Proto-Indo-European *bheugh- ('to bend').

## AI Etymology
Unbowed is from un- ('not') + bowed, past participle of bow ('to bend down, submit'), from Old English bugan ('to bend, stoop, submit'), from Proto-Germanic *beugan, from Proto-Indo-European *bheugh- ('to bend'). Important recorded forms include un- (Old English), bugan (Old English), and *bheugh- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the un- element marks negation, reversal, removal, or deprivation, while the base supplies the action, quality, or state being denied or undone. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers not subdued or defeated; remaining proud and defiant. The wider family includes related words such as bow, bowed, and unbend.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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