Antonyms for nailed down

Grammar : Adj, verb

Spell : neyl

Phonetic Transcription : neɪl

Definition of nailed down

Origin : Old English negel "metal pin," nægl "fingernail (handnægl), toenail," from Proto-Germanic *naglaz (cf. Old Norse nagl "fingernail," nagli "metal nail;" Old Saxon and Old High German nagel, Old Frisian neil, Middle Dutch naghel, Dutch nagel, German Nagel "fingernail, small metal spike"), from PIE root *(o)nogh "nail" (cf. Greek onyx "claw, fingernail;" Latin unguis "nail, claw;" Old Church Slavonic noga "foot," noguti "nail, claw;" Lithuanian naga "hoof," nagutis "fingernail;" Old Irish ingen, Old Welsh eguin "nail, claw").
The "fingernail" sense seems to be the original one. Nail polish attested from 1891. To bite one's nails as a sign of anxiety is attested from 1570s. Nail-biting is from 1805. Hard as nails is from 1828. To hit the nail on the head "say or do just the right thing" is first recorded 1520s. Phrase on the nail "on the spot, exactly" is from 1590s, of obscure origin; OED says it is not even certain it belongs to this sense of nail.

As in incontrovertible : adj beyond dispute
As in assured : adj absolutely certain
As in open-and-shut : adj pretty much decided
As in secure : adj certain, definite
As in stationary : adj not moving; fixed
As in definitive : adj authoritative
As in exact : adj accurate, precise
As in immobile : adj motionless, fixed
As in memorize : verb remember
As in assure : verb make certain
As in recall : verb remember
As in remember : verb keep in mind; summon into mind
As in settle : verb straighten out, resolve
As in batten : verb fasten securely
As in transfix : verb pierce
As in infix : verb fix
As in circumscribe : verb mark off, delimit
As in pin on : verb fix
As in affirm : verb declare the truth of something
As in define : verb give description
As in determine : verb conclude, decide
As in ensure : verb guarantee; make secure
As in fix : verb establish, make firm

Example sentences :

I examined the windows, and found they were nailed down on the outside.
Extract from : « Seek and Find » by Oliver Optic

I feel as if I had been nailed down in a coffin, and have got fresh air.
Extract from : « Beauchamp's Career, Complete » by George Meredith

Yet the houses and castles hold there as if they were nailed down.
Extract from : « America, Volume IV (of 6) » by Joel Cook

The window was nailed down but her pliers soon took care of that.
Extract from : « Sally Scott of the Waves » by Roy J. Snell

Did you see any man there that had been nailed down to a board and burned?
Extract from : « Reports of the Committee on the Conduct of the War » by United States Senate

Then a "real carpet" must be nailed down and pictures hung on the wall.
Extract from : « The Art of Entertaining » by M. E. W. Sherwood

But the carriage-way had been newly planked, and the planks were not yet nailed down.
Extract from : « Phaeton Rogers » by Rossiter Johnson

Everything that was not nailed down or stuck to the wall was in the air.
Extract from : « Broke » by Edwin A. Brown

They should be previously perfectly freed from dust by beating, and should be nailed down before commencing the above operations.
Extract from : « Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I » by Arnold Cooley

Outside the winds were screaming about the roof-slabs he had nailed down.
Extract from : « The Code of the Mountains » by Charles Neville Buck

Synonyms for nailed down

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019