Synonyms of unnerving

unnerving 1 of 2

adjective

as in disturbing

marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings

the unnerving news of yet another murder

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disturbing
• uneasy
• unsettling
• tense
• nervous
• anxious
• creepy
• restless
• disquieting
• distressing
• worrisome
• distressful
• fraught
• agitating
• embarrassing
• nerve-racking
• hairy
• nail-biting
• troublesome
• awkward
• strained
• bothersome
• discouraging
• foreboding
• disheartening
• misgiving
• restive
• unrestful

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• easy
• quiet
• comfortable
• peaceful
• tranquil
• calming
• restful
• quieting
• pacific

unnerving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of unnerve

1

as in paralyzing

to deprive of courage or confidence

the riding accident so unnerved me that for a while I was afraid to get back on a horse

Synonyms & Similar Words

• paralyzing
• frightening
• terrifying
• intimidating
• scaring
• unsettling
• emasculating
• demoralizing
• undoing
• disturbing
• debilitating
• wasting
• unmanning
• discouraging
• weakening
• enervating
• upsetting
• daunting
• softening
• unstringing
• disheartening
• terrorizing
• tiring
• sapping
• enfeebling
• disquieting
• dispiriting
• maddening
• dismaying
• neutering
• perturbing
• unbalancing
• unhinging
• deranging
• crazing
• psyching (out)
• prostrating
• fazing
• discomposing
• weirding out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthening
• nerving
• encouraging
• fortifying
• emboldening
• heartening

2

as in discouraging

to lessen the courage or confidence of

a figure skater can't afford to be unnerved by an occasional slipup

Synonyms & Similar Words

• discouraging
• frustrating
• daunting
• frightening
• disheartening
• intimidating
• horrifying
• dispiriting
• dismaying
• chilling
• troubling
• scaring
• demoralizing
• worrying
• distressing
• bothering
• unmanning
• afflicting
• throwing cold water on
• weighing
• trying
• saddening
• bullying
• depressing
• browbeating
• debilitating
• undermining
• cowing
• deadening
• vexing
• weakening
• irking
• dampening
• damping
• enfeebling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• encouraging
• cheering
• invigorating
• reinforcing
• reassuring
• enforcing
• nerving
• emboldening
• exciting
• enlivening
• heartening
• strengthening
• animating
• assuring
• steeling
• stirring
• gladdening
• stimulating
• provoking
• fortifying
• inspiring
• buoying (up)
• energizing
• lifting
• galvanizing
• quickening
• boosting
• rallying

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of unnerving

Adjective

For Perry, however, the paradox of the Madden Center has become even more unnerving. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026

But the groaning synthesizer underneath her bashful smile tells you something is off — a crystalline tone now distended, unnerving. — Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026

The eerie glow of an orange sun through thick wildfire smoke might be unnerving, but the biggest risk from the haze is something much harder to see. — Devi Shastri, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026

The gods themselves are also an unnerving presence, omnipresent beings of colossal power who see humans as their playthings and view Ulysses' toils as some twisted spectator sport. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 July 2026

Though some beachgoers told local news outlets that the flyover was thrilling, even if unnerving, the footage quickly sparked online discourse about the potential danger that the jet created. — Eleanor Jacobs, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026

There's an unnerving level of confidence in a summer rally, according to Bank of America Securities. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 14 July 2026

This isn’t the unnerving California that lies between the lines. — Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 14 July 2026

Yet given its outsized consequence for 20th-century history, the momentum of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party proves particularly unnerving. — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 10 July 2026

Verb

Alan Greenspan, who led the Federal Reserve under four presidents, steering the economy through unprecedented growth but also unnerving crisis, has died. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 22 June 2026

Two decades ago, Pratt’s unnerving talent for getting as much attention as possible secured him a spot on a TV show. — Louis Staples, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026

Still, Hollywood, and its significance to moviemaking, has a singular, unnerving allure on her. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026

The president immediately began speaking more about buying or seizing Greenland, further unnerving NATO allies. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 2 May 2026

The most recent of these was just two years ago, when eastern and central swathes of the United States experienced the path of totality, the phenomenon that casts daytime into eerie midnight blackness for unnerving lengths of time. — Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 14 Apr. 2026

Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, is sparking concerns about tightening energy supplies -- unnerving the world economy. — Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026

Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, is sparking concerns about tightening energy supplies — unnerving the world economy. — Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026

Iran’s attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, have given rise to increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy. — Dallas Morning News, 17 Mar. 2026