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
She escaped from the wreckage unscathed.
The administration was left relatively unscathed by the scandal.
Recent Examples on the WebHer building, on the east end, was unscathed by the fire last week.—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 1 June 2024 Albert Suárez, who had already pitched the seventh, returned afterward and got through the eighth and ninth innings unscathed to lower his season ERA to 1.96.—Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2024 Gruenberg did not come out unscathed and at times in the report comes across as unaware of the impact of his temper on others.—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 20 May 2024 In the fourth, the rookie right-hander escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam unscathed by getting Bryan De La Cruz to fly out to shortstop and Josh Bell to ground into a fielder’s choice.—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 18 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for unscathed
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unscathed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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