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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
Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026
Pérez got through five innings unscathed despite walking four batters.
—Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 29 Apr. 2026
No matter how idyllic your upbringing was, the truth is, no one gets out of childhood entirely unscathed.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
As their feud intensifies, nobody comes out of it unscathed.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unscathed
Cite this Entry
“Unscathed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unscathed. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unscathed
adjective
