DERAILING Synonyms: 91 Similar and Opposite Words

derailing

verb

present participle of derail

as in bothering

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 derailing With the campaign officially underway, the 54-year-old progressive is working to keep the tragedy from derailing his message to voters. — ABC News, 12 Nov. 2026 Then the pandemic upended those plans, derailing the theatrical release as well. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026 Oil flows have dropped amid the intensifying attacks, derailing an uptick in movement seen earlier this month. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026 Attacks on Saudi Arabia risked derailing the market recovery, the IEA said in its report, with Saudi production increases in September driving OPEC+ supply gains that month. — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026 Adding sweeteners, Ellison eventually convinced the Warner board to agree to a combination, derailing a WBD-Netflix deal. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026 One of Gates’ fears about letting AI continue unchecked is that society will turn against it entirely, derailing its potential to improve humanity, particularly through advances in science and health. — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026 Observers note a similar transactional caution in Trump stalling on a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan—the largest ever—to avoid derailing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming state visit. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 17 Aug. 2026 His filing instead describes the intervention as a way to prevent a potential dispute unique to Harwood from derailing the removal proceeding. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for derailing

Verb

Bri reached basically the same conclusion without bothering with the cardio experiment.

— Kevin Fanady, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026
His work is autobiographical and based on whatever has been bothering him that year.

— Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of bothering

Verb

As is the case in its sister hotel Villa la Coste, a dizzying array of frequently changing contemporary artworks are displayed to distracting effect throughout.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026
His clothes and equipment, while full of detail, also aren’t festooned with distracting elements.

— Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of distracting

Verb

The end result has given rise to an insidious and often disturbing form of violence that wins victims’ trust before preying upon them or coercing them into hurting others – for money, for social media clout or sometimes for no reason at all.

— Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 10 Nov. 2026
The new developments have been singled out for loud noise, polluting power generation, and for disturbing residential neighborhoods and natural landscapes.

— Shannon Osaka, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of disturbing

Verb

Part of the reason the open letter concerning Nazi Substack newsletters didn’t stick, perhaps, was that no one is reading the same things anyway.

— Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026
Most concerning for Talarico as Hispanic turnout explodes throughout the state are accounts that Latino men aren’t sold on his candidacy.

— W. James Antle III, The Washington Examiner, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of concerning

Verb

Coolly, Violet responds that to avoid alarming the public, a few agitators have beenneutralized—now there’s a sticky euphemism—and their deaths passed off as revenge killings among drug traffickers.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026
But the idea that fine adaptations of great books need to be stopping points, rather than springboards, is alarming by itself.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of alarming

Verb

In Fort Worth and other Texas cities, zoning and development regulations exist to safeguard people’s right to enjoy their properties without worrying about someone else encroaching upon them too much.

— Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Nov. 2026
The news sent markets rocking wildly, with investors worrying he could be forced to step down — a move that could trigger even more volatility.

— Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 10 Nov. 2026

Definition of worrying

Verb

Data center demand began driving up electric bills last year across a 13-state electricity grid stretching from Illinois to New Jersey and Maryland, angering ratepayers.

— Marc Levy, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Indeed, the survey showed that use of the horn is the most common action when drivers consider another driver to be annoying or angering them.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of angering

Verb

Where some of her peers were agitating for new ideological thinking inside the Party, Stevens was something closer to an earnest moderate.

— Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2026
But hell hath no fury like a Latino voter scorned and all this intimidation, in addition to a lack of follow-through on promises by Republican lawmakers since 2024, might have a boomerang effect by agitating Latinos into action.

— Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of agitating

Browse Nearby Words

derailed

derailing

derails

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Derailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derailing. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of derailing

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

impertinent

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes