Insecure

How to spell insecure

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce insecure

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does insecure mean?

1. adjectiveLacking self-confidence or feeling uncertain and anxious about oneself.
2. adjectiveNot firmly fixed, not protected, or open to risk and danger.

Insecure in a sentence

• He felt insecure about presenting in front of senior colleagues.

• The auditors flagged the network as insecure and easily breached.

• Constant criticism left her insecure about her own abilities.

• The ladder felt insecure on the uneven garden path.

Where does insecure come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes back to the Latin securus, which literally meant 'free from care' or 'untroubled', built from se- meaning 'without' and cura meaning 'care' or 'anxiety'. By adding the negating prefix in- (meaning 'not'), Latin and later writers formed insecurus, describing a state that was unsafe or full of worry. English adopted insecure in the early 1600s, at first in the sense of 'not safe' or 'exposed to danger', and only later extended it to the emotional sense of lacking confidence or self-assurance. The same cura root sits behind everyday relatives such as 'cure', 'curious', and 'secure' itself, all of which involve taking care or attending to something. A useful spelling note: the word keeps the full 'secure' inside it, so once you see in + secure you avoid dropping a letter.

How the word is built

• in- (not)
• secure (from Latin securus: free from care, safe), where secure breaks down further into se- (free from)
• cura (care)