as in disturbing
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
the unnerving news of yet another murder
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in paralyzing
to deprive of courage or confidence
the riding accident so unnerved me that for a while I was afraid to get back on a horse
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in discouraging
to lessen the courage or confidence of
a figure skater can't afford to be unnerved by an occasional slipup
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unnerving
Judy Berman, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
The 1960 movie — powered by Bernard Herrmann's chilling score, Anthony Perkins' unnerving portrayal of hotel manager Norman Bates (for the movie, much younger than the character in Bloch's novel) and Hitchcock's uncanny showmanship — revolutionized the horror genre.
—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Taking creative risks in your social sphere can feel unnerving.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
The files show that faculty swapped stories about Kohberger and debated pulling his funding and TA position, citing unnerving classroom conduct.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2025
Chronic headaches are an unnerving and often debilitating condition experienced by more than a billion people worldwide.
—Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2025
That may not sound like a virtue, but in a world where horror comes either overloaded with metaphor or reduced to bloody piffle, Cregger valiantly navigates an unnerving middle way.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
The sustained eye contact is unnerving.
—Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Sagar Gupta, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
In the weeks before she was murdered, Goncalves recounted a series of unnerving events to Mortensen and a second surviving housemate, according to a police report released last month.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 18 Aug. 2025
Dealt with unnerving subtlety, the final blow is one of Scorsese’s most devastating character executions.
—Elle Carroll, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Played by the versatile Domhnall Gleeson, in a performance that couldn’t be more different from his memorably unnerving turns in The Patient and Black Mirror, incoming Truth-Teller editor-in-chief Ned Sampson has a sort of aw-shucks, pre-Ozark-Jason-Bateman vibe.
—Judy Berman, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
The 1960 movie — powered by Bernard Herrmann's chilling score, Anthony Perkins' unnerving portrayal of hotel manager Norman Bates (for the movie, much younger than the character in Bloch's novel) and Hitchcock's uncanny showmanship — revolutionized the horror genre.
—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Taking creative risks in your social sphere can feel unnerving.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
The files show that faculty swapped stories about Kohberger and debated pulling his funding and TA position, citing unnerving classroom conduct.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2025
Chronic headaches are an unnerving and often debilitating condition experienced by more than a billion people worldwide.
—Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2025
That may not sound like a virtue, but in a world where horror comes either overloaded with metaphor or reduced to bloody piffle, Cregger valiantly navigates an unnerving middle way.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
The sustained eye contact is unnerving.
—Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
These models often fabricate facts, citations or statistics with unnerving confidence.
—Sagar Gupta, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
In the weeks before she was murdered, Goncalves recounted a series of unnerving events to Mortensen and a second surviving housemate, according to a police report released last month.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 18 Aug. 2025
Dealt with unnerving subtlety, the final blow is one of Scorsese’s most devastating character executions.
—Elle Carroll, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unnerving
Adjective
-
That's depicted in a disturbing, if somewhat inscrutable, scene.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Possibly, something disturbing will occur because someone has decided to make emotional demands on you.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
High-stakes performance reviews can be especially paralyzing.—
Ruth Oh Reitmeier,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
During lockdown, Mendelsund was consumed by a deep and paralyzing depression.—
Stuart Miller,
Oc Register,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Those concerns were not discouraging people online and around me from embracing the reformer machine.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
-
This would include more stoutly discouraging the delusion and possibly being completely upfront and clamping down on it.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And that helped to resolve that weird uneasy tension in my head.—
Maria Reva
September 3,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
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The safe-haven asset offers investors a hedge against an uneasy financial environment as a sharp hiring slowdown coincides with a steady uptick of inflation, according to analysts.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instances of swatting have been plaguing the nation for years, with fake shooting threats frightening the public and forcing schools, hospitals, grocery stores, office buildings, and airports into temporary lockdowns.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In turn, chickens have become a powerful — if not somewhat unsettling — example of how acutely humans can dictate the evolutionary destiny of other species.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Having previously allowed Alessia Russo, Ona Batlle and Mary Earps to run their contracts into the final stages — a situation the club say was unsettling for the squad — United were determined not to make the same error.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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On the same day, 100 cyclists, e-bike and dirt bike riders took over a Boston highway, terrifying local drivers.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The tonal whiplash you experience at that point, the sense that Barbarian can be genuinely terrifying one moment and weirdly funny the next, is what transformed the film into a cult hit.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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After a turbulent few weeks, things only became more tense when Sean McLaughlin and Allyshia Gupta claimed to have information that could destroy the relationship.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The first section is reasonably tense and engrossing.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unnerving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unnerving. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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