unsettled

/ˈʌnˌsɛdld/

/ənˈsɛteld/

Other forms: unsettledly

Something that's unsettled is out of order or unstable in some way. If you've just moved and started at a new school, your whole life may feel unsettled.

An unsettled situation is tumultuous or uncertain, and an unsettled person feels uneasy. You'll feel unsettled if you hear your best friends fight bitterly, or if you hear creepy noises coming from the attic late at night. If something hasn't been resolved yet, you can also describe that as unsettled: "The question of who will go pick up the pizza remains unsettled."

Definitions of unsettled

1. adjective

   still in doubt
   “an unsettled issue”

   “an unsettled state of mind”

   synonyms:

   doubtful, tentative

   unsettled in mind or opinion

   open, undecided, undetermined, unresolved

   not brought to a conclusion; subject to further thought

   antonyms:

   settled

   established or decided beyond dispute or doubt

   accomplished, effected, established

   settled securely and unconditionally

   appointed, decreed, ordained, prescribed

   fixed or established especially by order or command

   determined, dictated, set

   determined or decided upon as by an authority

   deterministic

   being an inevitable consequence of antecedent sufficient causes

   firm

   not subject to revision or change

   preconcerted

   previously arranged or agreed on
2. adjective

   subject to change
   “unsettled weather with rain and hail and sunshine coming one right after the other”

   synonyms: changeable, uncertain

   variable

   liable to or capable of change
3. adjective

   not settled or established
   “an unsettled lifestyle”

   synonyms:

   aimless, drifting, floating, vagabond, vagrant

   continually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another

   erratic, planetary, wandering

   having no fixed course

   homeless, stateless

   without nationality or citizenship

   migrant, migratory

   habitually moving from place to place especially in search of seasonal work

   mobile, nomadic, peregrine, roving, wandering

   migratory

   peripatetic, wayfaring

   traveling especially on foot

   itinerant

   traveling from place to place to work

   rootless, vagabond

   wandering aimlessly without ties to a place or community

   unlocated

   lacking a particular location

   antonyms:

   settled

   established in a desired position or place; not moving about

   based

   having a base of operations (often used as a combining form)

   built-up

   peopled with settlers

   located, placed, set, situated

   situated in a particular spot or position

   nonnomadic

   not nomadic or wandering

   relocated, resettled

   settled in a new location
4. adjective

   not yet settled
   “unsettled territory”

   synonyms:

   uninhabited

   not having inhabitants; not lived in