unsettling

adjective

un·​set·​tling
ˌən-ˈset-liŋ,
-ˈse-tᵊl-iŋ How to pronounce unsettling (audio)
: having the effect of upsetting, disturbing, or discomposing
unsettling images of the war
unsettlingly
ˌən-ˈset-liŋ-lē
-ˈse-tᵊl-iŋ- How to pronounce unsettling (audio)
adverb

Examples of unsettling in a Sentence

unsettling new developments in the effort to bring peace and stability to that region had the unsettling task of picking out a coffin and making the other funeral arrangements for his father
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Their story was both deeply familiar and powerfully unsettling. Sam Wolson, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2025 The novel is unsettling but thrilling, and a classic work that has stood the test of time. Robert English, EW.com, 30 July 2025 But that is an unsettling list of them for the Padres. Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 July 2025 What is unsettling about Meloni is not so much her behavior as her accommodation of the forces that nationalism has unleashed in the past, at a moment when postwar norms are fading away. Massimo Calabresi, Time, 24 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for unsettling

Word History

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unsettling was in 1665

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Cite this Entry

“Unsettling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unsettling. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on unsettling

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