unnerve

verb

un·​nerve ˌən-ˈnərv 

unnerved; unnerving; unnerves

transitive verb

1

: to deprive of courage, strength, or steadiness

2

: to cause to become nervous : upset

unnervingly

ˌən-ˈnər-viŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• demoralize
• emasculate
• paralyze
• undo
• unman
• unstring

Choose the Right Synonym for unnerve

unnerve, enervate, unman, emasculate mean to deprive of strength or vigor and the capacity for effective action.

unnerve implies marked often temporary loss of courage, self-control, or power to act.

unnerved by the near collision

enervate suggests a gradual physical or moral weakening (as through luxury or indolence) until one is too feeble to make an effort.

a nation's youth enervated by affluence and leisure

unman implies a loss of manly vigor, fortitude, or spirit.

a soldier unmanned by the terrors of battle

emasculate stresses a depriving of characteristic force by removing something essential.

an amendment that emasculates existing safeguards

Examples of unnerve in a Sentence

Seeing the police in there unnerved me.

She was unnerved by his strange manner.

Recent Examples on the Web

Briony then leads Jamie down a line of questioning that unnerves him. —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025

Several workers said that this indefinite period of leave has only unnerved them further as agencies eye deep additional cuts ordered by President Trump. —Eileen Sullivan, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2025

How can Ghosts continue, if not to send us into spasms of offense, then still to electrify and unnerve, to shock not our delicate constitutions but our consciences, which, after all, was its intention all along? —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2025

Intimate shots, which reinforce the early romanticism, make way for unnerving wide-angle close-ups and pans that transform this high-end restaurant into a gilded prison. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for unnerve

• conserve
• deserve
• manoeuvre
• observe
• preserve
• reserve
• subserve
• curve
• mirv
• nerve
• serve
• swerve

Kids Definition

unnerve

verb

un·​nerve ˌən-ˈnərv 

ˈən-

unnerved; unnerving

: to deprive of nerve, courage, or self-control

the accident unnerved me