ˌən-ˈset-liŋ
1
as in disturbing
causing worry or anxiety
unsettling new developments in the effort to bring peace and stability to that region
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
had the unsettling task of picking out a coffin and making the other funeral arrangements for his father
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in alarming
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
the news that the local grocery store had sold contaminated produce unsettled many shoppers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unsettling
Clayton Davis, Variety, 18 June 2025
Comments The Survivors is Netflix's latest murder mystery that dives into grief, secrets, and unsettling truths.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 17 June 2025
However, there will be three in 2026, which might be an especially unsettling year for some.
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—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 13 June 2025
Human Parallels: Our Bias Toward Confident Eloquence Perhaps most unsettling is how closely this AI limitation mirrors a persistent human cognitive bias.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsettling
Adjective
The series, which premiered in May, blends cinematic storytelling with Segura’s signature warped sense of humor, taking audiences through a series of unsettling and often outrageous scenarios.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 18 June 2025
Comments The Survivors is Netflix's latest murder mystery that dives into grief, secrets, and unsettling truths.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 17 June 2025
However, there will be three in 2026, which might be an especially unsettling year for some.
Unable to view our graphics?
—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 13 June 2025
Human Parallels: Our Bias Toward Confident Eloquence Perhaps most unsettling is how closely this AI limitation mirrors a persistent human cognitive bias.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsettling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsettling
Adjective
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Content moderators are workers who remove disturbing content from social media—data which is often then used to train AI systems like ChatGPT or Facebook’s algorithms.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
19 June 2025
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These stories reveal a disturbing truth: AI can automate and amplify existing biases, leading to real-world injustice.—
Sajal Singh,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Some are bigger than others: economic uncertainty, changing customer behaviors, personal isolation, leadership burnout, marketing crisis, brand reputation, uneasy board members, investor expectations, consumer confidence, health issues and family challenges.—
Nancy Padberg,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
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But Musk’s rebuke has energized fiscal hawks in the Senate who were already uneasy with the legislation’s scope.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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The research community has long warned of troubling links to chronic disease, especially for children, and have called for more government oversight of the plastic, fossil fuel and chemical industries.—
Will Stone,
NPR,
18 June 2025
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Experts said state health exchanges’ use of advertising trackers was troubling if not entirely surprising.—
Colin Lecher,
USA Today,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Over the past few weeks, Bieber has found himself at the center of increasingly tense run-ins with paparazzi.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2025
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Their only hope is to get to a nearby island, a situation made harder – and much more tense – by a clever great white, noteworthy for being a real shark rather than a CGI one like most films use.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
16 June 2025
Verb
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Occupying and distracting the mind.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Apr. 2025
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While most of the acting is wonderful (Wyle is predictably great, but so is just about all of the main cast), some patient-of-the-week players err towards distracting histrionics.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Which isn’t to say that the film isn’t frightening.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2025
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The fumes are certainly easier to ignore or deny than the visceral, immediate violence of serial murder—which is much rarer, and yet, for many, much more frightening.—
Sarah Weinman,
The Atlantic,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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One in every three young adults aged 18-25 reports feeling anxious or lonely.—
Ann Kowal Smith,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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Perfectionist tendencies may cause an anxious person to limit their food intake, choose to eat only a limited range of foods, or exercise in excess.—
Brittany Dube,
Health,
17 June 2025
Verb
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Overweight and obesity need to be treated safely and effectively to avoid that worrying forecast.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
25 Dec. 2024
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Bitcoin has dropping back from its all-time high of over $100,000 in the last week as BlackRock quietly confirmed a worrying bitcoin bombshell.—
Billy Bambrough,
Forbes,
24 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Unsettling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsettling. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
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