uneven

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   (of a contest or contestants) not fairly matched as opponents

   vaudeville...waged an uneven battle against the church

2. 2
   adj

   not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture

   an uneven color

3. 3
   adj

   variable and recurring at irregular intervals

   an uneven gait

4. 4
   adj

   Not uniform.

   I've spent hours on overcrowded trains, and time on ones which were almost empty, because the recovery [from COVID] has been uneven.

5. 5
   adj

   Varying in quality.

   Even white activists who lacked a thoroughgoing anti-racist consciousness or were uneven in their understanding saw unity in the struggle against all forms of oppression as key.

6. 6
   verb

   To make uneven.

   Initially it nestled among the dozens of Indian mounds that unevened the earth near the river until they were leveled to accommodate commerce.

7. 7
   adj

   lacking consistency

8. 8
   adj

   not divisible by two

Etymology

From Middle English uneven, from Old English unefen (“unequal, unlike, dissimilar, diverse, irregular”), equivalent to un- + even. Cognate with Dutch oneven (“unequal, uneven, odd”), German uneben (“uneven, rough, irregular, bumpy”).