Adjacent Words

Unequal definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

UNE'QUAL, a. [L. inaequalis.]
1. Not equal; not even; not of the same size, length, breadth, quantity, etc.; as men of unequal stature; houses of unequal dimensions.
2. Not equal in strength, talents, acquirements, etc.; inferior.
3. Not equal in age or station; inferior.
4. Insufficient; inadequate. His strength is unequal to the task.
5. Partial; unjust; not furnishing equivalents to the different parties; as an unequal peace; an unequal bargain.
6. Disproportioned; ill matched.
Against unequal arms to fight in pain.
7. Not regular; not uniform; as unequal pulsations.
8. In botany, having the parts not corresponding in size, but in proportion only, as a corol; rugged, not even or smooth, as the surface of a leaf or stem.
An unequal leaf, is when the two halves separated by the mid-rib, are unequal in dimensions, and their bases not parallel; called also an oblique leaf.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: poorly balanced or matched in quantity or value or measure [ant: equal]
2: lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task; "inadequate training"; "the staff was inadequate"; "she was unequal to the task" [syn: inadequate, unequal] [ant: adequate, equal]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 1565 1. a. not of the same measurement, quantity, or number as another b. not like or not the same as another in degree, worth, or status 2. not uniform ; variable, uneven 3. a. badly balanced or matched <an unequal contest> b. contracted between unequals <unequal marriages> c. archaic not equable 4. archaic not equitable ; unjust 5. inadequate, insufficient <unequal to the task> • unequally adverb II. noun Date: 1600 one that is not equal to another III. adverb Date: 1602 archaic in an unequal manner <unequal match'd — Shakespeare>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 (often foll. by to) not equal. 2 of varying quality. 3 lacking equal advantage to both sides (an unequal bargain). Derivatives: unequally adv.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Unequal Un*e"qual, a. [Cf. Inequal.] 1. Not equal; not matched; not of the same size, length, breadth, quantity, strength, talents, acquirements, age, station, or the like; as, the fingers are of unequal length; peers and commoners are unequal in rank. 2. Ill balanced or matched; disproportioned; hence, not equitable; partial; unjust; unfair. Against unequal arms to fight in pain. --Milton. Jerome, a very unequal relator of the opinion of his adversaries. --John Worthington. To punish me for what you make me do Seems much unequal. --Shak. 3. Not uniform; not equable; irregular; uneven; as, unequal pulsations; an unequal poem. 4. Not adequate or sufficient; inferior; as, the man was unequal to the emergency; the timber was unequal to the sudden strain. 5. (Bot.) Not having the two sides or the parts symmetrical.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. An unequal system or situation is unfair because it gives more power or privileges to one person or group of people than to others. This country still had a deeply oppressive, unequal and divisive political system. ...the unequal power relationships between men and women. ...unequal pay. ADJ: usu ADJ n • unequally ...unequally distributed assets... The victims were treated unequally. ADV: ADV with v 2. If someone is unequal to a task they have to do, they do not have the abilities needed to do it well. (FORMAL) He felt unequal to the job and wished there were someone he could go to for advice. ADJ: v-link ADJ to n 3. Unequal means being different in size, strength, or amount. The Egyptians probably measured their day in twenty-four hours of unequal length. ADJ

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

un-e'-kwal: Eze 18:25,29 for lo' thakhan, "not weighed," "illogical." "Unequally" in 2Co 6:14, in the phrase "unequally yoked," heterozugeo, is used of the yoking together of two animals of different kinds (compare the Septuagint of Le 19:19).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Uneven, not alike. 2. Inferior. 3. Disproportioned, ill-matched. 4. Irregular, not equable, not uniform. 5. Inadequate, insufficient. 6. (Bot.) Inequilateral.

Moby Thesaurus

assorted, asymmetric, at odds, at variance, broken, capricious, careening, catchy, changeable, changing, choppy, contrary, contrasted, contrasting, departing, desultory, deviating, deviative, deviatory, different, differentiated, differing, disaccordant, disagreeing, disconnected, discontinuous, discordant, discrepant, discrete, discriminated, disjoined, disorderly, disparate, disproportionate, dissimilar, dissonant, distant, distinct, distinguished, divaricate, divergent, diverging, divers, diverse, diversified, diversiform, eccentric, erose, erratic, fitful, flickering, fluctuating, guttering, halting, herky-jerky, heteroclite, heterogeneous, ill-matched, ill-sorted, illegal, immethodical, impulsive, in disagreement, inaccordant, inadequate, incompatible, incongruous, inconsistent, inconsonant, inconstant, inequitable, inharmonious, iniquitous, insufficient, intermittent, intermitting, irreconcilable, irregular, jagged, jerky, lurching, many, mercurial, mismatched, motley, multifarious, mutable, nonconformist, nonstandard, nonsymmetrical, nonuniform, odd, off-balance, out of proportion, overbalanced, patchy, pluralistic, poles apart, poles asunder, ragged, rambling, rough, scrappy, separate, separated, several, skew, skewed, snatchy, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, spastic, sporadic, spotty, staggering, unalike, unbalanced, uncertain, unconformable, undeserved, undue, unequable, unequitable, uneven, unjust, unlawful, unlike, unmeet, unmerited, unmethodical, unmetrical, unorthodox, unregular, unrhythmical, unrightful, unsettled, unsimilar, unstable, unsteady, unsymmetrical, unsystematic, ununiform, variable, variant, varied, variegated, variform, various, varying, veering, wandering, wavering, widely apart, wobbling, wobbly, worlds apart, wrong, wrongful