ebaühtlane

Ebaühtlane is an Estonian adjective meaning not even, irregular or inconsistent. It is formed by the negative prefix eba- combined with the adjective ühtlane (even, uniform), and is used to describe surfaces, distributions, rhythms, behaviour or any phenomenon that lacks uniformity.

In grammar it behaves like a regular Estonian adjective and takes the same inflectional patterns as other adjectives. Comparative sense is expressed in ordinary ways (for example ebaühtlasem) and superlative degrees are commonly formed with kõige. Common collocations include ebaühtlane pind (uneven surface), ebaühtlane jaotus (uneven distribution), ebaühtlane tempo (uneven pace) and ebaühtlane südametöö (irregular heartbeat).

Etymologically the prefix eba- corresponds to the Finnic negative prefix (cf. Finnish epä-) and is productive in Estonian for creating antonyms. Synonyms and related terms include ebakorrapärane, mittesüsteemne and ebaühtlaselt (as an adverb), while antonyms are ühtlane, regulaarne and tasakaalustatud.

The word is used across technical, scientific and everyday contexts: in construction and engineering to assess surfaces and tolerances, in statistics to describe variance or heteroscedasticity, in medicine for irregular physiological patterns, and in everyday speech to note inconsistency or unevenness.