1
as in paralyzing
to deprive of courage or confidence
the near crash of the airliner was a completely unmanning experience for the passengers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in discouraging
to lessen the courage or confidence of
players who wouldn't let themselves be unmanned by the loss of a single game
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmanning
Verb
-
At age 14, Arias was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs, paralyzing him from the waist down.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
8 Mar. 2026 -
In a region where weather swings from paralyzing ice storms to scorching summers, these elements carry weight.—
Mary Grace Granados
Special Contributor,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
These interconnected policies demonstrate an intentional effort to reshape the American electorate by discouraging nonwhite immigration and citizenship.—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Red flags worth walking away from include dismissing symptoms without investigation, attributing everything to stress or anxiety, discouraging second opinions and making patients feel rushed.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Clumsiness notwithstanding, bringing a criminal case against a journalist who was reporting on a protest is an authoritarian tactic—a means of frightening the press away from uncovering the truth.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
-
But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Mack and the Chargers’ defense pressured quarterbacks Jalen Hurts of the Eagles and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, frustrating them and keeping them out of their comfort zones.—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The air in the room changed immediately, terrifying little Liza.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Pic was written and directed by horror filmmaker Ian Tuason, and follows the host (Nina Kiri) of a popular paranormal podcast who becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
General Daily Insight for March 27, 2026 Having fun can make intimidating schedules much easier to handle.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
-
But those projects can be expensive to design and intimidating to apply for.—
Mark Dee
March 27,
Idaho Statesman,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
During the first phase, last spring, before DHS got the infusion of new money, Noem led a shock-and-awe campaign aimed mostly at scaring people into leaving.—
Nick Miroff,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
-
At the time, local hunters blamed the Ping for scaring away game.—
Andrew Coletti,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In the political sphere—an arena that’s increasingly entangled with social media—figures such as Elon Musk decry empathy as an emasculating plague.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
-
And yet precisely this dynamic ensures that commitment between men, the kind of domesticity that David and Giovanni attempt to establish in Giovanni’s room, can only ever be emasculating.—
Garth Greenwell,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Unmanning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmanning. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
