unevenly

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ʌnˈivənli/ UK /ʌnˈiːvənli/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adv
in a way that is not uniform or balanced

The paint had been applied unevenly across the wall.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a way that is not... irregularly erratically disproportionately inconsistently raggedly

Opposites

evenly uniformly smoothly consistently

Word family

Related forms uneven even unevenness

Etymology

From uneven (un- 'not' + even) + -ly. Even is from Old English efen ('level, equal'), from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz.

-ly Old English efen Old English *ebnaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# unevenly

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /ʌnˈivənli/
**IPA (UK):** /ʌnˈiːvənli/

## Meanings
1. in a way that is not uniform or balanced

## Examples
- The paint had been applied unevenly across the wall.

## Synonyms
- irregularly
- erratically
- disproportionately
- inconsistently
- raggedly

## Antonyms
- evenly
- uniformly
- smoothly
- consistently

## Related Forms
- uneven
- even
- unevenness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: -ly
- Root: efen
- Root: *ebnaz

## Etymology
From uneven (un- 'not' + even) + -ly. Even is from Old English efen ('level, equal'), from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz.

## AI Etymology
Unevenly is from uneven (un- 'not' + even) + -ly. Even is from Old English efen ('level, equal'), from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz. Important recorded forms include -ly (Old English), efen (Old English), and *ebnaz (Proto-Germanic). 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 in a way that is not uniform or balanced. The wider family includes related words such as uneven, even, and unevenness.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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