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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
Mike Kupper, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
Navarro then rerouted the discussion back to the Hot Topic at hand, unscathed and with her sense of humor fully intact.
—EW.com, 13 June 2024
The 36-year-old husband and father of three didn’t walk away unscathed, however, Cairo told the outlet, adding that Spyrka suffered internal injuries and broken bones, and has had to undergo multiple surgeries.
—Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 12 June 2024
Estes needed just 70 pitches to get through the Mariners’ lineup unscathed twice before Crawford lined a first-pitch fastball beyond the reach of Cameron, the A’s right fielder, and off the base of the outfield wall.
—Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 5 June 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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Cite this Entry
“Unscathed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unscathed. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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unscathed
adjective
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