insecureadjective
uk/ˌɪn.sɪˈkjʊər/us/ˌɪn.səˈkjʊr/insecure adjective (NOT CONFIDENT)
C1 Insecure people have little confidence and are uncertain about their own abilities or if other people really like them:
I wonder what it was about her upbringing that made her so insecure.
He still feels insecure about his ability to do the job.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Doubt & ambivalence
- ambivalent
- askance
- be in two minds idiom
- blow hot and cold idiom
- chary
- hem
- hem and haw idiom
- hum
- hum and haw idiom
- indecision
- indecisive
- jury
- shilly-shally
- sit on the fence idiom
- straddle
- tentative
- the jury is (still) out idiom
- unclear
- wobble
- wobbly
See more results »
insecure adjective (NOT SAFE)
C2 (of objects or situations) not safe or not protected:
The situation is still insecure, with many of the rebels roaming the streets.
Nations which are not self-sufficient in energy will face an insecure future.
We've gone through a few financially insecure years.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Unsafe and insecure
- at stake idiom
- be on the line idiom
- day
- endangered
- exposed
- in the firing line idiom
- indefensible
- jeopardy
- precarious
- precariously
- shadow
- sketchy
- stake
- struggle
- threat
- unattended
- unbalanced
- unguarded
- unsafe
- unstable
See more results »
insecurely
adverb uk/ˌɪn.sɪˈkjʊə.li/us/ˌɪn.sɪˈkjʊr.li/
The shelves were insecurely fastened and fell to the floor.
insecurity
noun [ C or U ] uk/ˌɪn.sɪˈkjʊə.rə.ti/us/ˌɪn.səˈkjʊr.ə.t̬i/
C2
a sense/feeling of insecurity
She had developed an outgoing personality to mask her deep insecurities.
financial insecurity