DISQUIETING Synonyms: 155 Similar and Opposite Words

disquieting 1 of 2

adjective

as in disturbing

causing worry or anxiety disquieting news of troubles downtown

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in uneasy

marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings with a disquieting voice she asked me to investigate the strange noise coming from the basement

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

disquieting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of disquiet

as in alarming

to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy we were disquieted by the strange noises we heard outside our tent at night

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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 disquieting

Adjective

Director Michelangelo Antonioni delivers an unresolved ending that hangs like a melancholic fog over this visually stunning, yet disquieting, two-and-a-half-hour classic. — Maggie Turner, Air Mail, 25 July 2026 He’s long delved into the dark corners of his lived and theoretical experience, pushing toward sticky, disquieting ideas that sent ripples of nervous laughter through a crowd unable to reject his reasoning. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 June 2026 There is also, again, the disquieting realization that four Justices were willing to change the meaning of birthright citizenship, albeit to different degrees, and for varying reasons. — Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 30 June 2026 But there’s also something more disquieting at work here, and not just when George’s advances begin to feel very much like, well, advances. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 June 2026 Much of the film’s success, however, derives not from the twists and turns of plot but from simply situating the viewer in the disquieting vibe of this bizarre place. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026 Paying tribute to a South Carolina town destroyed in the 1950s for a nuclear materials plant, the Durham avant-folk trio's disquieting new album is both a community service and a spiritual offering. — Lily Goldberg, Pitchfork, 22 May 2026 An office complex in Oakland has been seized by its lender through a foreclosure that serves as a disquieting reminder that financial setbacks continue to haunt commercial properties in the East Bay’s largest city. — George Avalos, Mercury News, 14 May 2026 Pattinson and Zendaya play a couple whose wedding engagement is derailed after a disquieting revelation. — ABC News, 1 May 2026

Verb

Kreutzer’s approach is disquieting in its intimacy, keeping agonizingly close to Lucy’s real-time perspective. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026 The light is always ‘slanted,’ casting the novel’s gnomic creations in disquieting atmospherics. — Literary Hub, 23 July 2026 In a powerful and disquieting GQ profile, the band and some immediate friends and family unraveled the struggles that have plagued their lucrative but life-altering reunion, a kind of cautionary tale for leveling up after settling down. — Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork, 4 May 2026 The author calculated the shock wave’s energy that would be deposited in a human body by using physics similar to that of a bullet impact, which, though disquieting to say the least, is not a bad assumption from a scientific standpoint. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 24 Apr. 2026 The impersonations were disquieting. — Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 11 Apr. 2026 Her images of ice blocks, lush fabrics, cherries, sea animals, and charred hearts are disquieting in the best way and well worth trekking to Santa Monica to witness in person. — Emma Specter, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2026 The subjects say rending but also disquieting things about killing. — Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026 This is NDiaye at her disquieting best. — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disquieting

Adjective

But no one can ignore the reality that New York has experienced a disturbing rise in antisemitic attacks.

— Simcha Itzkowitz, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026
For people who live just steps from the home where the gun violence erupted, the incident was both disturbing and unsettling.

— Jeff Capellini, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of disturbing

Adjective

Meanwhile, China is tightening approvals for exports of rare earth products — a key bargaining chip at the last summit in Beijing, which sealed an uneasy trade truce.

— Andy Browne, semafor.com, 4 Aug. 2026
As the novel coronavirus overtook daily life, in the spring of 2020, our celebrities occupied uneasy terrain.

— Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of uneasy

Verb

In Orange County, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County maintains infectious-disease surveillance and disease-reporting services for residents and visitors, which is exactly how local systems stay ready without alarming the public.

— Luis E. Caso Vega, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 July 2026
So, even just the unusual presence of an aircraft in this area made this incident alarming for one resident, Anna, who spoke to CNN near the scene.

— Steven Jiang, CNN Money, 26 June 2026

Definition of alarming

Adjective

For a series built around the unsettling idea of collective perfection, Pluribus works because each department thrived in the chaos of creation.

— Deadline, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026
As Ludwig’s body begins to change in unsettling ways, the cure becomes a journey through fear, loss and transformation.

— Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of unsettling

Adjective

But things grow more tense, especially as neighbors that are also sealed in struggle to survive.

— William Earl, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
Leaders can be compassionate toward others through leadership and practicing openness, yet their presence will be tense or distant, constantly watching themselves.

— Gregory Stebbins, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of tense

Adjective

The loss of the union’s buy-in would mark a radical shift following last week’s troubling state test results — which nearly wiped out gains in reading proficiency only a year prior.

— Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026
Something was clearly off, and the sharp pivot toward paranoia was a troubling turn.

— Ayana Lage, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of troubling

Adjective

And the more anxious students become about their career prospects, the more attractive banks and banking clubs become.

— Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
While Turkey and Pakistan, on the borders of the Middle East, have avoided significant direct attacks, both are anxious to calm conflicts that threaten their own security and economic health.

— Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of anxious

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“Disquieting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disquieting. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of disquieting

adjective

verb

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