insecurity

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin īnsēcūritās. By surface analysis, insecure +‎ -ity.

Pronunciation

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Noun

insecurity (countable and uncountable, plural insecurities)

1. A lack of security; uncertainty.

   Synonym: insecureness

   Antonym: security

   • 2020 July 1, Paul Stephen, “Mental health in the workplace”, in Rail, page 51:

     They are also more likely to be on freelance or short-term contracts, which can contribute to feelings of financial insecurity and therefore a greater tendency for people to attend work even they are unwell.

   • 2021, Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, “What is... jealousy?”, in Let's Talk About It, →ISBN, page 189:

     Jealousy: It's all the feelings that come over you when you think you're being overlooked by others. It comes from inside, from your insecurities and fears—fear of loss, fear of betrayal, and fear of hurt.

   1. A lack of confidence in oneself.

      Synonyms: insecureness, self-doubt

      Antonyms: security, self-assurance, self-confidence

   2. The state of being subject to danger (physical, economic, or otherwise).

      economic insecurity

      Synonyms: exposure, insecureness, precariousness, precarity, vulnerability

      Antonyms: safety, security

Related terms

• insecure, insecurely

Translations

lack of security, uncertainty

• Armenian: անվստահելիություն (anvstaheliutʻyun)
• Bulgarian: несигурност (bg) f (nesigurnost)
• Danish: usikkerhed
• Dutch: onzekerheid (nl)
• Finnish: epävarmuus (fi)
• German: Unsicherheit (de)
• Greek: ανασφάλεια (el) f (anasfáleia)
• Hungarian: bizonytalanság (hu)
• Irish: neamhdhiongbháilteacht f
• Japanese: コンプレックス (ja) (konpurekkusu)
• Polish: niepewność (pl) f
• Portuguese: insegurança (pt) f
• Russian: небезопасность (ru) (nebezopasnostʹ), комплекс (ru) m (kompleks)
• Ukrainian: невпе́вненість f (nevpévnenistʹ, literally “uncertainty”)

vulnerability

• Bulgarian: уязвимост (bg) f (ujazvimost)
• Dutch: onveiligheid (nl) f, kwestbaarheid, kwetsbaarheid (nl)
• Finnish: turvattomuus (fi)
• Greek: ανασφάλεια (el) f (anasfáleia)
• Portuguese: periculosidade f
• Russian: незащищённость (ru) f (nezaščiščónnostʹ)
• Ukrainian: незахи́щеність f (nezaxýščenistʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} insécurité (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} Unsicherheit (de) f
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} insecuritate (ro) f
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} అభద్రత (te) (abhadrata)

See also

• (danger): peace of mind (contrastive)