unmoored

Unmoored is an adjective describing something that is not moored, meaning not secured by lines, ropes, or anchors. In nautical usage, an unmoored vessel has lost its moorings and may drift with currents or wind, posing risks to other ships and nearby structures.

The term can be applied to ships in harbor or to boats that have broken free during storms; in maritime contexts, loss of moorings can raise questions of liability if the vessel causes damage or disruption.

Beyond its literal sense, unmoored is widely used figuratively to describe people, organizations, or ideas that have lost their grounding or support. A person might feel unmoored after a major life change, while a government or institution may appear unmoored when it seems detached from its mandate or traditions. The construction emphasizes detachment, instability, or lack of direction.

Common synonyms in its figurative use include adrift, unanchored, detached, and unsettled. The term often appears in news reporting and literary prose to convey a sense of displacement or turmoil, or as a rhetorical device to illustrate a shift away from established norms. The opposite of unmoored is anchored, moored, or grounded.