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 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

But the nightmarish realms of the Further retain their unnerving power, and some of the old-school ghost movie thrills are well done. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026

The relentlessness of this worldwide bond market rout is unnerving, pushing yields to decently attractive levels. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026

Verb

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

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