1
as in paralyzing
to deprive of courage or confidence
the near crash of the airliner was a completely unmanning experience for the passengers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in discouraging
to lessen the courage or confidence of
players who wouldn't let themselves be unmanned by the loss of a single game
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmanning
Verb
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To him, these alliances resemble the tiny Lilliputians trying to bind the giant Gulliver with paralyzing strings.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
11 May 2026 -
These figures can feel abstract, even paralyzing.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
4 May 2026
Verb
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If an override did occur and was reversed by a manager who trusted the system's track record, the structure is actively discouraging the judgment it was built to include.—
Tiffany Archer,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
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But that wasn't the only discouraging news this week.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Clumsiness notwithstanding, bringing a criminal case against a journalist who was reporting on a protest is an authoritarian tactic—a means of frightening the press away from uncovering the truth.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
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But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The documentary’s contradiction is right there, enthralling us with the wild achievements Potter pulled off and frustrating us with his bombast, leading us to ponder whether, as The Dark Wizard suggests, either could exist without the other.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
7 May 2026
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Mack and the Chargers’ defense pressured quarterbacks Jalen Hurts of the Eagles and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, frustrating them and keeping them out of their comfort zones.—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is breathtaking and also terrifying with a 4-year-old along.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
17 May 2026
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Facing the endless Cylon onslaught in the void of space is terrifying even in 2D battles, but many of Scattered Hopes' gut punches happen during unexpected narrative events or tough choices that doom entire ship populations.—
Ian Stokes,
Space.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Beaulah orders Joaquin to clean up the mess, which involves dragging his brother to rehab and possibly intimidating Wes’s highly suspicious widow, Whitney (Olivia Rose Keegan), into leaving town.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
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The learning curve, while gentler than tennis, can still feel intimidating in a social setting.—
Jeff Fromm,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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That combination—higher costs, fewer flights, and steady demand—has given airlines more room to raise fares without scaring off travelers.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
13 May 2026
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Schwarzenegger’s strategy energized Californians who wanted to punish incumbent Democrats, but avoided scaring too many of the state’s median voters.—
Conor Friedersdorf,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
Verb
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In the political sphere—an arena that’s increasingly entangled with social media—figures such as Elon Musk decry empathy as an emasculating plague.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
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And yet precisely this dynamic ensures that commitment between men, the kind of domesticity that David and Giovanni attempt to establish in Giovanni’s room, can only ever be emasculating.—
Garth Greenwell,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Unmanning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmanning. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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