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Can you be scathed instead of unscathed?
We often hear of a person coming through some difficult circumstance, or dangerous endeavor, and “emerging unscathed,” yet we rarely hear of anyone “emerging scathed.” Why is this? Scathe is a word: it may function as a noun (“harm, injury”) or as a verb (“to do harm to,” “to assail with withering denunciation”). It is not as commonly found as it once was, and now primarily serves as the basis for the adjective scathing (“bitterly severe”) or for the latter portion of unscathed. So you can say that someone “emerged scathed” if you wish, but be advised that it will have a curiously archaic sound to it.
Examples of unscathed in a Sentence
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
But the true shocker from this entire process is how my hair survived relatively unscathed (...save for a few brittle ends).
—Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 11 Mar. 2025
Michelle Visage has officially launched a revenge mission against the queens of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 — and Entertainment Weekly went along for the (very wet) ride that left no cast member unscathed.
—EW.com, 6 Mar. 2025
Still, as always, not everyone came through the night unscathed, and some attendees went home happier than others.
—Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unscathed
Cite this Entry
“Unscathed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unscathed. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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unscathed
adjective
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