unpoisedadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈpɔɪzd/, U.S. /ˌənˈpɔɪzd/ 1. Not poised (in various senses); unbalanced, not held in equilibrium. Also in later use: not (or no longer) held in readiness or expectation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > absence of support > [adjective] > held up without support > not balanced
unpoisedc1600
c1600 W. Fowler Wks. (1914) I. 260 Vnpoized hambers strikes vntimely howers.
1676 S. Crossman Serm. preached Bristol 10 Ingenuous natures become dayly debauch'd.., green unpoiz'd years easily drawn aside.
1732 T. Morell tr. M. G. Vida in Poems Divine Subj. 43 Misty Vapours, Exhalations rise..; Till, when the Air no longer can sustain Its unpois'd Burthen, they descend in Rain.
1828 J. Grant Last Things iv. 107 Can we wonder, that the unpoised world should stagger, and like a drunken man?
1866 Horol. Jrnl. May 101/2 An unpoised lever is opposed to the free action of the wheel.
1909 Ironwood (Mich.) News Rec. 8 May It is the one sided, the unpoised mind that goes wrong.
1961 Jrnl. Amer. Water Wks. Assoc. 53 231/1 Eh measurements in unpoised systems such as natural waters are not simple.
2001 B. Roorbach Big Bend 44 The deputy..still holding his unpoised pen and his empty pad.
2. Of a person, his or her behaviour, etc.: lacking composure or self-assurance; unsettled, impetuous.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > impetuosity > [adjective]
brothc1175
impetuous1398
headya1425
brainish1530
hot-brained1556
hot-headed1603
flashy1632
hot-reined1635
scapperboiling1673
warm1749
étourdi1750
torrentuous1840
impulsive1847
unpoised1872
torrential1877
Latin1914
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [adjective] > unstable or unbalanced
alienated1529
unsettleda1616
unhinged1732
fucked-up1865
unpoised1872
disturbed1904
screwed-up1943
fouled-up1953
dicked-up1967
fucked1971
screwed1984
1872 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 355/1 He was never haughty, never insolent.., never unpoised, never uncharitable, never ungenerous.
1881 Congregationalist (Boston, Mass.) 5 Oct. 319/2 His large-hearted deferential ways—never baffled or unpoised or unprepared.
1903 W. P. Trent Hist. Amer. Lit. iv. xvii. 486 Mr. O'Connor's pamphlet-letter..reviewed the action of the Secretary in a style as caustic as it was unpoised and inurbane.
1942 Billboard 17 Oct. 7/3 He lacks plenty, tho, as a radio voice or personality, enunciating poorly and seeming thruout somewhat unpoised.
2012 M. Douglas Nanny who saved Christmas i. 18 She bit her tongue to stop from blurting out something unpoised and stupid.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.c1600