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

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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 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 Ed Burke played a key role in derailing her 2019 campaign for mayor. — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026 The rulings wiped out the dreams of thousands of Italian descendants who had been hoping to achieve citizenship, derailing life plans and splitting families apart. — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026 At the same time, borrowers are reporting increasing problems and errors that are delaying or derailing their ability to maintain access to affordable repayment plan programs and student loan forgiveness. — Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 The analysts wrote that a common fear among investors is that the scale of infrastructure investment required for electrification becomes too expensive, derailing the sector’s growth. — Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 17 July 2026 And Johnson’s gambit to attach the SAVE America Act to important legislation risks not only derailing bipartisan policy but another government shutdown, too. — Sorelle Wyckoff Gaynor, The Conversation, 17 July 2026 He was struck by a car during his freshman year at Clemson University, derailing that season. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 11 July 2026 The back-and-forth risks derailing sensitive negotiations in the Pine Tree State that will determine who could appear on the ballot in Platner's place. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 8 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derailing
  1. bothering
  2. distracting
  3. disturbing
  4. concerning
  5. alarming
  6. worrying
  7. angering
  8. agitating
Verb
  • The one issue that is bothering me at or just before launch is the CPU's Wear and Tear management.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The arnica in this gel can help treat sore muscles, aches, swelling, or other pains that are bothering you, too.
    — Jasmine Gomez, Travel + Leisure, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of bothering
Verb
  • Practicing meditation, visualization, or deep breathing may help in distracting from the discomfort of a full bladder for a short time.
    — Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 14 Aug. 2026
  • At least 10 million people use the Opal app, whose premium tier costs $100 annually, to lock themselves out of distracting apps, while others pay $59 for the Brick to do the same.
    — Nancy Walecki, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of distracting
Verb
  • Sulfur-rich gases reaching the upper atmosphere could reflect sunlight and temporarily cool the climate, disturbing rainfall and reducing harvests worldwide.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Some people think putting more and more effects is the best way to express ourselves for the audience, and some filmmakers just want to keep the balance without disturbing the original movie.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of disturbing
Verb
  • Speaking to voters Of course, there are skeptics everywhere in this arena, not least concerning the two main protagonists.
    — Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
  • There is also a broader issue concerning the commercial future of the World Cup.
    — Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of concerning
Verb
  • The development proved alarming enough that OpenAI vowed last week to slow the release of its upcoming Astra AI model.
    — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Found in many foods For consumers, of course, the latest food safety concerns can be alarming given that lettuce and jalapeño peppers are used in many of the roughly 1 billion meals Americans consume daily.
    — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of alarming
Verb
  • The trick is to avoid second-guessing, worrying, griping or doing other things that waste time, according to Schore.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Unanswered emails can make people feel ignored or disrespected, or jump to worrying or envisioning worst-case scenarios, such as being on the brink of getting laid off or fired.
    — Austin Sarat, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of worrying
Verb
  • Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich faces a fight for political survival in elections in October after angering his fellow West Bank settlers by voting not to punish ultra-Orthodox Jews who refuse to serve in the military.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
  • And the thousandth cut came when Raman launched her mayoral campaign without first consulting the local DSA chapter, angering organizers who felt the race stretched their resources too thin.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026
Definition of angering
Verb
  • Too much precarity, too little success, and too much commitment to naturally-occurring outcomes means that openly agitating for more diversity can be a nonstarter.
    — Adia Harvey Wingfield, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Instead of budgeting for $1,800 in tissues, the school insists on agitating parents all summer over crap like this.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of agitating

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Cite this Entry

“Derailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derailing. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of derailing for Spanish Speakers

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