Unlevel

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Having an uneven or sloping surface rather than being flat and level
2. Lacking a flat, horizontal plane, with surface parts at different heights or angles
3. Having an irregular or tilted surface instead of remaining smooth and level throughout

Etymology: "Unlevel" is a simple formation: the prefix "un-" joined to "level." The prefix "un-" comes from Old English and was used to reverse or negate the sense of a word, as in "unhappy" or "undo." Attaching it to "level" gives the sense of "not level," meaning uneven or not flat or balanced. The base word "level" came into English from Old French "livel," which traces back to Latin "libella," a diminutive of "libra," meaning "balance" or "scale." The original idea was the spirit level or plumb tool used to test whether a surface was horizontal, so "level" carries the notion of balance. Its negated form "unlevel" follows the same logic: a surface that fails the balance test.

Synonyms: uneven, irregular, unequal

Antonyms: level, even, flat