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# unsound

adjective (unsound)

«unsound» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Unsound means not safe or strong; in bad condition, like an unsound building or bridge. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#m1)
2. Unsound reasoning, ideas or advice are not based on good sense or facts; wrong or unreliable. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#m2)
3. (law, old-fashioned) «Of unsound mind» means a person who is mentally ill and cannot make responsible decisions. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#m3)

### In the lessons

In safety: an unsound wall, tree or ice can collapse. In maths and logic: an unsound argument gives a wrong conclusion. In law: «of unsound mind». It tells the reader something cannot be trusted.

### Examples

- The old bridge was unsound, so it was closed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#x1)
- Don't climb that tree – the branch is unsound. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#x2)
- His argument was unsound because the facts were wrong. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#x3)
- The ice looked thick but was unsound. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#x4)
- The engineer said the walls were structurally unsound. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#x5)
- That plan is financially unsound – it costs more than we have. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/#x6)

### Note

Opposite: «sound» (safe, sensible). «Sound» here does not mean noise. «Of unsound mind» is an old legal phrase; today people say a person is unwell.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «unsound» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unsound/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«unsound» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/unsound.html) on Mova free.