How do you pronounce uneven?

The recorded pronunciation is /ʌnˈivən/.

Where does uneven come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

uneven

/ʌnˈivən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.55 in modern English

Syllables: un-even
IPA: /ʌnˈivən/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of a surface, not even; covered with raised spots, pits and grooves.

adj

Not level or smooth.

adj

Not uniform.

adj

Varying in quality.

adj

Odd.

verb

To make uneven.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"I've spent hours on overcrowded trains, and time on ones which were almost empty, because the recovery [from COVID] has been uneven."
"Even white activists who lacked a thoroughgoing anti-racist consciousness or were uneven in their understanding saw unity in the struggle against all forms of oppression as key."
"Initially it nestled among the dozens of Indian mounds that unevened the earth near the river until they were leveled to accommodate commerce."
"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."

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”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: uneven, unefen

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

more uneven (comparative) most uneven (superlative) unevens (present, singular) unevening (participle, present) unevened (participle, past) unevened (past)

Derived Forms

unevenly unevenness

Phrases

uneven bars

Frequently Paired Words

irregular unequal

Synonyms

jagged rough spotty scratchy mismatched odd

Antonyms

even

Rhymes With

stephen steven leven kievan beaven kleven even saint stephen devon neven threeven