unsettle

verb

un·​set·​tle ˌən-ˈse-tᵊl 

unsettled; unsettling; unsettles

transitive verb

1

: to loosen or move from a settled state or condition : make unstable : disorder

2

: to perturb or agitate mentally or emotionally : discompose

intransitive verb

: to become unsettled

Synonyms

• disturb
• distract
• bother
• alarm
• worry
• concern
• agitate

Examples of unsettle in a Sentence

Such a sudden change will unsettle her.

the news that the local grocery store had sold contaminated produce unsettled many shoppers

Recent Examples on the Web

Markets are unsettled, geopolitics shows up inside product roadmaps, and investors ask for discipline and outsized growth at the same time. —Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025

Revolutions are unsettling affairs, Kurzman, the sociologist, notes. —Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025

Moses is on the downturn of his career, Campbell likely won’t be an All-Pro out of the gate, there are questions with Bradbury and Wilson, and the left guard position is still unsettled across from starting right guard Mike Onwenu. —Doug Kyed, Hartford Courant, 21 July 2025

In June, a community in Wichita, Kansas, was unsettled by seven geese left dead in a road, KAKE reported. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 18 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for unsettle

• betel
• cetyl
• kettle
• metal
• mettle
• nettle
• petal
• setal
• settle
• diacetyl
• gunmetal
• nonmetal

Kids Definition

unsettle

verb

un·​set·​tle ˌən-ˈset-ᵊl 

ˈən-

1

: to move or loosen from a settled state

2

: to make uneasy

change unsettles him