DERAIL Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

derail

verb

di-ˈrāl

Definition of derail

as in to distract

to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy according to police, the suspect had been derailed in recent months by mounting financial problems

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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.

Recent Examples of derail Nothing can derail a season for a team or a student-athlete like an injury. — Chris Hoffman, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 The warm applause was a markedly different reception than six years ago, when a fourth-place showing in South Carolina helped derail Buttigieg’s presidential campaign while exposing his failure to connect with Black voters. — Joey Cappelletti, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026 And despite Lily’s attempts to put on a brave face, eventually, every crappy event — from the attempt of her high school boyfriend Scooter to win her back to Marshall’s unfortunate encounter with a pair of clippers — threatened to derail their day. — Erin Strecker, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Aug. 2026 If Richardson could no longer coach, the parents feared, all of that might be derailed. — Molly Hensley-Clancy, ProPublica, 20 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for derail

Recent Examples of Synonyms for derail

Verb

Clancy also didn't report any attempt to stop the voice or distract herself from it, which Heilbrun said is common for people who experience such hallucinations.

— N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
Mail and Paper Piles Leaving mail and stacks of paper on coffee tables, console tables, and end tables is distracting and causes a conflict between relaxation and productive tasks, which Lee notes are two things that don't go together.

— Maria Sabella, The Spruce, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of distract

Verb

Now investors are wondering whether the bond market’s unease is strong enough to disturb a booming stock market.

— John Towfighi, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
As a parent who has purchased my share of scary Halloween costumes, I was particularly disturbed by the controversy now engulfing Target.

— Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of disturb

Verb

Right-handed reliever Joel Peguero (left hamstring strain) will be shut down for the rest of the year due to a recurring hamstring strain that’s bothered him since spring training.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2026
McGarey’s son told his mom not to bother sending packages because people weren’t receiving them.

— Chris Quintana, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of bother

Verb

Homecoming aside, there’s still the Trawler to worry about, a fact we’re reminded of when another victim turns up on a playground, this time with a pentagram carved into his back and fish corpses shoved into his wounds.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
Bessent’s answer indicates that US officials worry going after Chinese banks would be crossing a red line.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of worry

Verb

The world’s most powerful economies are increasingly alarmed by their declining birthrates, and there’s no shortage of theories on why.

— Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
The New York Times has begun testing its first generative AI tool for readers, a step the publication hopes will improve its troubled search feature but which has also alarmed some of the paper’s journalists.

— Max Tani, semafor.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of alarm

Verb

That's a step in the right direction as far as we're concerned, because Jim Cramer has been after Nvidia to institute an Apple-style stock repurchase strategy.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
The artificial-intelligence titan resisted Pentagon demands concerning uses of its technology that included mass surveillance and autonomous lethal weapons.

— Scott M. Curran, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of concern

Verb

Lin said recent restrictions affecting mainland investors’ access to offshore brokerages in Hong Kong had particularly unsettled some clients.

— Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Whether new degrees in AI or digital humanities pay off, or result in concrete careers, is unsettled.

— Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of unsettle

Verb

One of the loudest voices in the cattle world agitating against the border reopening is Bill Bullard, the CEO of R-CALF, a national association of independent cattle and sheep farmers.

— Max Saltman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
Whether that was a message to the fans getting agitated at a pause on signings or the board who were considering their next move, only Carrick knows.

— Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of agitate

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“Derail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derail. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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