uneven

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English

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).

Pronunciation

Adjective

uneven (comparative more uneven, superlative most uneven)

  1. Not even
  2. Not level or smooth
  3. Not uniform
  4. Varying in quality
  5. (mathematics, rare) Odd
    Antonym: even

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

uneven (third-person singular simple present unevens, present participle unevening, simple past and past participle unevened)

  1. (transitive) To make uneven.
    • 1993, Travel Holiday (volume 176, page 56)
      Initially it nestled among the dozens of Indian mounds that unevened the earth near the river until they were leveled to accommodate commerce.
    • 2006, Jack Temple Kirby, Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South (page 128)
      First, of course, the war reduced the white male, mostly young adult, population by more than a quarter-million, unevening the sex ratio and connubial and other opportunities for women for perhaps a generation.