Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Unseemly |
UnseemlyAdjective1. Not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society; "was buried with indecent haste"; "indecorous behavior"; "language unbecoming to a lady"; "unseemly to use profanity"; "moved to curb their untoward ribaldry". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "unseemly" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1200. (references) |
Synonyms: UnseemlySynonyms: indecent (adj), indecorous (adj), unbecoming (adj), uncomely (adj), untoward (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Inexpedience | Ill-contrived, ill-advised; unsatisfactory; unprofitable; unsubservient; (useless); inopportune; (unseasonable); out of place, in the wrong place; improper, unseemly. |
Ugliness | Adjective: ugly, ugly as sin, ugly as a toad, ugly as a scarecrow, ugly as a dead monkey; plain, bald (unadorned); homely; ordinary, unornamental, inartistic; unsightly, unseemly, uncomely, unlovely; unshapely; sightless, seemless; not fit to be seen; |
Undueness | Improper; unmeet, unfit, unbefitting, unseemly; unbecoming, misbecoming; seemless; contra bonos mores; not the thing, out of the question, not to be thought of; preposterous, pretentious, would-be. |
Vice | Unprincipled, lawless, disorderly, contra bonos mores, indecorous, unseemly, improper; dissolute, profligate, scampish; unworthy; worthless; desertless; disgraceful, recreant; reprehensible, blameworthy, uncommendable; discreditable, disreputable; Sadistic. |
Vulgarity | Coarse, indecorous, ribald, gross; unseemly, unbeseeming, unpresentable; contra bonos mores; ungraceful; (ugly). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Unseemly |
| English words defined with "unseemly": Seemless ♦ Unbehovely. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "unseemly": reliquary ♦ Weasel. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "unseemly": Unbehovely. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | It is unseemly for her to be having lunch with a lo fan. (Walking Shadow; writing credit: Robert B. Parker;) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | "Cease! This is Christmas Day and no occasion for unseemly levity! The Webster alliance submits suitable greetings". Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | Secrets that few would like to scrutinise were bred and hidden in mountains of unseemly rags, masses of corrupted fat, and sepulchres of bones |
So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish | Douglas Adams | He wondered where Ford Prefect was. By an extraordinary coincidence, the following day there were two reports in the paper, one concerning the most astonishing incidents with a flying saucer, and the other about a series of unseemly riots in pubs |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | RELIQUARY, n. A receptacle for such sacred objects as pieces of the true cross, short-ribs of the saints, the ears of Balaam's ass, the lung of the cock that called Peter to repentance and so forth. Reliquaries are commonly of metal, and provided with a lock to prevent the contents from coming out and performing miracles at unseasonable times. A feather from the wing of the Angel of the Annunciation once escaped during a sermon in Saint Peter's and so tickled the noses of the congregation that they woke and sneezed with great vehemence three times each. It is related in the "Gesta Sanctorum" that a sacristan in the Canterbury cathedral surprised the head of Saint Dennis in the library. Reprimanded by its stern custodian, it explained that it was seeking a body of doctrine. This unseemly levity so raged the diocesan that the offender was publicly anathematized, thrown into the Stour and replaced by another head of Saint Dennis, brought from Rome. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Unseemly" is generally used as an adverb (general) -- approximately 63.64% of the time. "Unseemly" is used about 77 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adverb (general) | 63.64% | 49 | 48,677 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 35.06% | 27 | 66,962 |
| Noun (proper) | 1.3% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 77 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
unseemly | 8 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "unseemly"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | i paturpshëm (bold, forward, immodest, indecent, malapert, shameless), i palezetshëm (ill-favored, ill-favoured, inurbane, trite, unagreeable, unbeseeming, uncomely, unpleasant, vapid), i pahijshëm (bad, dirty, fie-fie, graceless, improper, indecent, indecorous, obscene, unbecoming, unchristian, wry). (various references) | |
Arabic | غير ملائم (awkward, awkwardly, clumsy, disadvantageous, inadequate, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, incommensurate, inconvenient, inept, unfortunate, unfriendly, unhandy, unsuitable, untidy, untimely), غير لائق (incongruous, indecent, unbecoming, uncomely, unhandsome, unsuitable), على نحو غير لائق. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | ненавременен (ill timed, ill-judged, importune, inexpedient, inopportune, premature, unseasonable, untimely), непристоен (disorderly, improper, indecent, outre, unbecoming, unbeseeming, uncomely, undignified), неприличен (bawdy, foul, immodest, improper, indecent, indelicate, lewd, nasty, naughty, off color, off colour, ribald, salacious, shameful, smutty, spicy, tasteless, unbecoming, uncomely, unmentionable), неподходящ (ill-suited, improper, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, incorrect, ineligible, inept, infelicitous, injudicious, inopportune, irrelative, irrelevant, out of place, unadapted, unapt, unbecoming, unbeseeming, uncongenial, undignified, undue, unequal, unfit, unsuitable, unsuited, untoward, wrong). (various references) | |
Czech | nevhodný (clumsy, ill timed, impolitic, improper, inadequate, inadvisable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, incongruous, inconvenient, ineligible, inexpedient, inopportune, misbecoming, off-key, unappropriated, unapt, unbecoming, uncalled for, undesirable, undue, unfit, unlikely, unlucky, unseasonable, unsuitable, untimely), neslušný (discourteous, immodest, impolite, improper, indecent, indecorous, indelicate, lewd, misbecoming, obscene, rude, unbecoming, uncivil, uncouth, unpresentable, unsuitable), nepřístojný (improper, unbecoming, unsuitable, untoward), nepatřièný (misbecoming, undue), neúhledný (untidy). (various references) | |
Dutch | ongepast (not fitting, unfit), misplaatst (not fitting, unfit). (various references) | |
Esperanto | malkonvena (not fitting). (various references) | |
Farsi | نازیبا (Inelegant, Unbecoming, Ungraceful, Unhandsome, Unworthy), ناشایسته (Improper, Inapt, Incompetent, Inept, Unbecoming, Unfit, Unmeet, Unworthy), بعید (Far, Remote, Unlikely), بطورنازیبا, بدمنظر (Gash, Unsightly). (various references) | |
Finnish | säädytön (immodest, improper, indecent, unmannerly). (various references) | |
French | malséant (unbecoming), indécent (unhandsome), inconvenant (unbecoming). (various references) | |
German | ungehörig (impertinent, improper, indelicate, indelicately, irregular, irregularly, unbecoming, unfilial, unmannerly, unseemlily, untoward), ungeziemend. (various references) | |
Greek | απρεπήσ (graceless, impolitic, improper, indecent, indecorous, inept, risque, scabrous, tactless, unbecoming, uncalled for, undue). (various references) | |
Hebrew | לא יא" (a bit off, improper, indecorous, indelicate). (various references) | |
Hungarian | illetlen (fie-fie, improper, indecent, indecorous, misbecoming, rank, unbecoming, unbeseeming). (various references) | |
Italian | sconveniente (disadvantageous, disreputable, improper, inconvenient, misbecoming, nonu, suggestive, unattractive, unfitting, ungentlemanly, unpassable, untoward, wrong), indecoroso (disreputable, indecorous, unbecoming). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 如何わしい (dubious, indecent, suspicious, unreliable). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | いかがわしい (dubious, indecent, suspicious, unreliable). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | eemlyunsay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | maladequado (not fitting), inoportuno (bad, embarrassing, goody, gooey, ill-timed, immature, impertinent, importunate, inadvisable, inapposite, inconvenient, inexpedient, inopportune, not fitting, timeless, uncalled-for, unseasonable, unsuitable, untimely), indecoroso (crude, indecorous, shocking, unbecoming, unbefitting, unclean, unworthy), indecente (bawdy, indecent, indecorous, nasty, obscene, ribald, risky, scurrilous), inconveniente (abuse, drawback, fie-fie, harm, improper, incongruous, inconvenience, inconvenient, indecent, indecorous, indelicate, inexpedient, inopportune, scurrilous, unbecoming, unbefitting, undesirable, unprintable, unsuitable, untoward), impróprio (amiss, discreditable, faked, naughty, unapt, unbecoming, unbefitting, unbeseeming, uncomely, undignified, unfit, unmeet, unsuitable, unsuited, unworthy, useless), feio (fearful, frightful, haggish, ill-favored, ill-favoured, nasty, shapeless, ugly, uncomely, unhandsome, unlovely, unsightly). (various references) | |
Romanian | neconvenabil (incommodious), indecent (blue, dirty, free and easy, gross, hoggish, immodestly, improper, indecent, lewd, naughty, racy, unprintable). (various references) | |
Russian | неподобающий (graceless, improper, indecent, unbeseeming, unsuitable). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | neprikladan (inappropriate, indecorous, infelicitous, suit: not suited to, unapt, unbecoming, unbeseeming, undue, unhappy, unsuitable). (various references) | |
Spanish | impropio (Amiss, false, improper, inappropriate, incorrect, unbecoming, unfit, untrue, wrong). (various references) | |
Swedish | opassande (improper, improperly, inappropriate, inapt, indecent, indecorous, inept, off color, off colour, out of order, unbecoming, unfitting, unmentionable), ful (bad, foul, homely, miserable, nasty, ornery, poor, ugly, unattractive, unlovely, unsightly). (various references) | |
Turkish | uygunsuz (derogatory, illegitimate, impolitic, improper, inapposite, inappropriate, incongruous, inconvenient, incorrect, indecent, indecorous, indelicate, ineligible, inexpedient, infelicitous, malapropos, near the knuckle, obnoxious, unbecoming, unbefitting, unbeseeming, uncalled for, unchristian, uncomely, unhandsome, unpropitious, unsuitable, untoward, wrong), yakışmayan (ill-assorted, ill-matched, unbecoming, unlike), yakışık almaz (it isn't done, unbeseeming), olmaz (christ no, impossible, no, no deal, no dice, no way, nope, nothing, nothing doing, that cat won't jump, thumbs down, unlikely), münasebetsiz (gauche, impertinent, improper, inapposite, incorrect, inexpedient, inopportune, malapropos, near the knuckle, unhappy, untimely). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | неналежний. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | không thích đáng bất lịch sự; khó coi, không tề chỉnh, không chỉnh (improper, incorrect), không đoan trang không hợp. (various references) | |
Welsh | anweddus (improper, indecent), anweddaidd (indecent), annillyn (clumsy, inelegant, ugly), anhardd (ugly, unhandsome), anfoddol (unwilling). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | dedecor, dedecoris, deforme, deformes, indecens, turpis. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Romans Chapter 1, Verse 27 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | OmoiwV te kai oi arreneV afenteV thn fusikhn crhsin thV qhleiaV exekauqhsan en th orexei autwn eiV allhlouV arseneV en arsesin thn aschmosunhn katergazomenoi kai thn antimisqian hn edei thV planhV autwn en eautoiV apolambanonteV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Similiter autem et masculi relicto naturali usu feminae exarserunt in desideriis suis in invicem masculi in masculos turpitudinem operantes et mercedem quam oportuit erroris sui in semet ipsis recipientes |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | Swa eac forleton menn gecyndlice beæwnunga mid wifum and wæron onæled þurh luste for ilc oðrum. Menn wyrhton ungecyndlice þing mid oðrum mannum and onfengon on him selfum þa rihte bot for hiera forligre. |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Also the men forsoken the kyndli vss of womman, and brenneden in her desiris togidere, and men in to men wrouyten filthehed, and resseyueden in to hem silf the meede that bihofte of her errour. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And as it semed not good vnto them to be aknowen of God even so God delivered them vp vnto a leawde mynd yt they shuld do tho thinges which were not comly |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one towards another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And in the same way the men gave up the natural use of the woman and were burning in their desire for one another, men doing shame with men, and getting in their bodies the right reward of their evil-doing. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Romans Chapter 1, Verse 27 |
| Cebuano | Ug sa mao usab nga paagi, ang mga lalaki nanagbiya sa ilang tiunayng kalabutan ngadto sa babaye ug nangaut-ot diha sa ilang pangibog alang sa usag usa, mga lalaki sa masigkalalaki manag-unay sa pagbuhat sa makauulaw, ug nanagpakaagum diha sa ilang kaugalingon sa balus nga angay sa ilang pagkadautan. |
| Croatian | a tako su i muškarci napustili naravno opæenje sa ženom i raspalili se pohotom jedni za drugima te muškarci s muškarcima sramotno èine i sami na sebi primaju zasluženu plaæu svoga zastranjenja. |
| Danish | og ligeså forlode også Mændene den naturlige Omgang med Kvinden og optændtes ideres Brynde efter hverandre, så at Mænd øvede Uterlighed med Mænd og fik deres Vildfarelses Løn, som det burde sig, på sig selv. |
| Dutch | En insgelijks ook de mannen, nalatende het natuurlijk gebruik der vrouw, zijn verhit geworden in hun lust tegen elkander, mannen met mannen schandelijkheid bedrijvende, en de vergelding van hun dwaling, die daartoe behoorde, in zichzelven ontvangende. |
| Finnish | samoin miespuoletkin, luopuen luonnollisesta yhteydestä naispuolen kanssa, ovat kiimoissaan syttyneet toisiinsa ja harjoittaneet, miespuolet miespuolten kanssa, riettautta ja villiintymisestään saaneet itseensä sen palkan, mikä saada piti. |
| French | et de même les hommes, abandonnant l`usage naturel de la femme, se sont enflammés dans leurs désirs les uns pour les autres, commettant homme avec homme des choses infâmes, et recevant en eux-mêmes le salaire que méritait leur égarement. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Lelaki pun begitu juga; mereka tidak lagi secara wajar mengadakan hubungan dengan wanita, melainkan berahi terhadap sesama lelaki. Laki-laki melakukan perbuatan yang memalukan terhadap sesama laki-laki, sehingga mereka menerima pembalasan yang setimpal dengan perbuatan mereka yang jahat itu. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | demikian juga laki-laki meninggalkan adat yang lazim dengan perempuan serta menyala-nyala di dalam syahwatnya seorang kepada seorang, yaitu laki-laki dengan laki-laki melakukan perbuatan yang keji, serta memperoleh di dalam dirinya pembalasan yang berpadan dengan dosa yang sesat itu. |
| Italian | Egualmente anche gli uomini, lasciando il rapporto naturale con la donna, si sono accesi di passione gli uni per gli altri, commettendo atti ignominiosi uomini con uomini, ricevendo così in se stessi la punizione che s'addiceva al loro traviamento. |
| Maori | Me nga tane ano, whakarerea ake e ratou te tikanga maori ki te wahine, ano he ahi te kanga o to ratou hiahia ki a ratou ano; nga tane ki nga tane, mahi ai i te mea whakama, me te whiwhi ano ki te utu e rite ana mo to ratou ngaunga ketanga. |
| Norwegian | og på samme vis forlot også mennene den naturlige bruk av kvinnen og brente i sin lyst efter hverandre, så at menn drev skjenselsverk med menn, og fikk på sig selv det vvederlag for sin forvillelse som rett var. |
| Portuguese | semelhantemente, também os varões, deixando o uso natural da mulher, se inflamaram em sua sensualidade uns para como os outros, varão com varão, cometendo torpeza e recebendo em si mesmos a devida recompensa do seu erro. |
| Rumanian | tot astfel wi bqrbayii, au pqrqsit kntrebuinyarea fireascq a femeii, s`au aprins kn poftele lor unii pentru alyii, au sqvkrwit parte bqrbqteascq cu parte bqrbqteascq lucruri sckrboase, wi au primit kn ei knwiwi plata cuvenitq pentru rqtqcirea lor. |
| Russian | П"П'ОП Й НХЦЮЙОЩ, ПУФБЧЙЧ ЕУФЕУФЧЕООПЕ Х ПФТЕ'МЕОЙЕ ЦЕОУЛПЗП ПМБ, ТБЪЦЙЗБМЙУШ ПИПФША "ТХЗ ОБ "ТХЗБ, НХЦЮЙОЩ ОБ НХЦЮЙОБИ "ЕМБС УТБН Й ПМХЮБС Ч УБНЙИ УЕ'Е "ПМЦОПЕ ЧПЪНЕЪ"ЙЕ ЪБ УЧПЕ ЪБ'МХЦ"ЕОЙЕ. |
| Shuar | Núnisan aishmansha nuwajai tsanintinian iniaisar nuamtak aishmankak tsanirmanainiawai. Ti wakerunainiak ti natsanmainia nuna yajauch Túrunainiawai. Tura yajauch Túruiniak ni ayashi Wáitsatniunak sumamawarmiayi. |
| Swahili | Nao wanaume hali kadhalika, wanaacha kufuata matumizi ya maumbile ya mume na mke wakawakiana tamaa wao kwa wao. Wanaume wanafanyiana mambo ya aibu, na hivyo wanajiletea wenyewe adhabu wanayostahili kwa vitendo vyao viovu. |
| Swedish | sammalunda övergåvo ock männen det naturliga umgänget med kvinnan och upptändes i lusta till varandra och bedrevo styggelse, man med man. Så fingo de på sig själva uppbära sin villas tillbörliga lön. |
| Uma | Tomane wae wo'o-wadi-hawo: uma-ra mpotobine tobine, tapi' mpokahina hingka tomane-radi. Tomane mpobabehi gau' to uma tumotoa hi hingka tomane-ra, pai' ka'omea-na mporata lau-ramo pehuku' to hintotoa hante gau' -ra to sala' toe. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Misspellings | |
"Unseemly" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: unseemely. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "unseemly" (pronounced unsē"mlē) |
| 4 | -ē" m l ē | extremely. |
| 3 | -m l ē | awesomely, calmly, comely, dimly, lamely, firmly, gamely, glumly, grimly, handsomely, homely, namely, primly, randomly, solemnly, superfamily, timely, uniformly, untimely, warmly. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "e-e-l-m-n-s-u-y" | |
-2 letters: lumens, muleys, neumes, seemly. | |
-3 letters: emeus, enemy, ensue, lenes, lense, lumen, lunes, mense, menus, mesne, mules, muley, neems, neume, neums, seely, semen, ylems, yules. | |
-4 letters: eels, eely, elms, elmy, else, emes, emeu, emus, eyen, eyes, eyne, lees, lens, leys, lues, lums, lune, luny, lyes, lyse, mels, menu, mule, muns, muse, neem, neum, seel. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-e-l-m-n-s-u-y" | |
+3 letters: myelogenous, unemployeds. | |
+4 letters: tremendously. | |
+5 letters: ceremoniously, homogeneously, subemployment, supplementary, underlayments, unemployables, unemployments, unwholesomely, venturesomely. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Fiction 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Translations: Ancient | 13. Bible Trace 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
