English edit

Etymology edit

un- +‎ ballasted

Adjective edit

unballasted (not comparable)

  1. (shipping) Not loaded or stabilised with ballast.
    • 1922, Bertrand W. Sinclair, The Hidden Places[1]:
      Then, as if the clouds had discharged their aqueous cargo and rode light as unballasted ships, they lifted in aerial fleets and sailed away, white in a blue sky.
  2. (figurative) Unstable, liable to flounder.
    • 1908, Allen Chapman, Bart Stirling's Road to Success[2]:
      It was a rickety concern, was unballasted, and looked as if, loosely thrown together, it had never filled its original mission and had been practically abandoned.

Translations edit