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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
William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025
Through all of this, the Wild Abundance campus, situated in a lovely, forested area, was unscathed.
—Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
The Trump administration is making major cuts to NOAA, including ending leases for major facilities, but Houston's forecasting center is so far unscathed.
—Andrew Freedman, Axios, 5 Mar. 2025
The cuts at the Manhattan institution touch six departments, including education, archives, publications, and advancement, with curators and management emerging unscathed.
—News Desk, Artforum, 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 14 Mar. 2025.
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unscathed
adjective
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