insecure
- 1Not confident about yourself, or feeling worried and unsure in some situations.
Like standing on a wobbly chair that might tip over at any moment.
He felt insecure about his looks before the party.
New students often feel insecure during their first week at school.
Similarunsure, self-conscious, anxious, diffident, unconfident
Oppositeconfident, self-assured, secure, assured
- 2Not safe, or not held in place firmly enough to be trusted.
Like a shelf with loose screws that could fall down at any time.
The old ladder felt insecure, so they fetched a sturdier one.
Their jobs became insecure when the factory started losing money.
Similarunstable, unsafe, precarious, shaky, unsteady
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of insecure apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Made from in- (meaning "not") plus secure. It can also come from Medieval Latin insēcūrus, from in- ("not") plus sēcūrus ("safe, certain").