unscathed means not harmed or damaged in any way; untouched. It carries an Arena rating of 1693, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, unscathed ranks #4 of 7 for Ghost Positives, #149 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,302 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,602 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
unscathed is pronounced /ʌnˈskeɪðd/.
Why “unscathed” is a great word
Emerging from a hazardous or destructive situation without a single scratch, bruise, or dent to one's person or spirit. From the prefix un- (meaning "not") + scathed, the past participle of the now-rare verb scathe (meaning "to harm or injure"), from Old Norse skaða ("to harm"). Unlike "unharmed," which can denote mere absence of injury, or "intact," which speaks of structural wholeness, "unscathed" carries the ghost of the event it defied; it implies a narrow passage through a storm of potential ruin. It is the lone house standing after the wildfire has passed, the soldier whose uniform bears not a single tear, the reputation that passes through scandal without a tarnish—a quiet testament to improbable preservation in a world designed to wear things down.
Etymology
From un- + scathed.
adj
- Not harmed or damaged in any way; untouched.e.g.“He was quite relieved to finish the conversation unscathed.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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