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

Each loving gesture and bashful smile from his aspiring girlfriend Nikki is punctuated by dread, every minute tense and unnerving as her fixation slowly takes a dark turn. — Mariam Bagdady, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026

Featured Presentations Primetime As To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, Pattinson is absolutely unnerving, giving one of his best performances of the year. — Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

For other families quietly and often despairingly living with similar problems of addiction and mental illness involving their children, the tragedy is an unnerving, looming specter — a worst-case scenario made real. — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026

Yet ballrooms dipped in gold are still not as unnerving as the fact that America’s $40 trillion federal debt is now bigger than the entire annual economic output of almost every single nation on Earth. — Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026

That could be fantastic for an interview, a doctor’s appointment or a parent-teacher conference, but a little unnerving for everyone else in the room. — Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026

Despite the unnerving tone of the actor’s questions, I was charmed. — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

She’s played with a darkly enigmatic, unnerving quality by James in her finest work to date — a knowing, even domineering smile often curling around her lips. — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

No More, understands that anticipation can be far more unnerving than whatever eventually jumps out of the darkness. — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026

Verb

Moldova reports another drone incursion During the aerial barrages, drones have repeatedly strayed into neighboring countries, unnerving leaders who are wary of Russia and fear being dragged into conflict. — Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026

During the aerial barrages, drones have repeatedly strayed into neighboring countries, unnerving leaders who are wary of Russia and fear being dragged into conflict. — ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026

OpenAI said quarter-on-quarter sales growth cooled to 18% while losses deepened, unnerving investors as the firm prepares for what is expected to be one of the biggest IPOs ever. — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2026

While SpaceX's satellite internet division, Starlink, remains the company's key revenue driver, the group's gigantic AI capex spend is unnerving investors, helping to drag the stock price lower in Wednesday's session. — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026

His bet is that the same technology unnerving finance chiefs, artificial intelligence, is what finally drags that sector into the modern era. — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

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

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