unnerve
Americanverb (used with object)
-
unnerves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unnerved,
past participle, past
-
unnerving
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
unnervesimple
-
unnervessimple
-
have unnervedperfect
-
has unnervedperfect
-
am unnervingprogressive
-
are unnervingprogressive
-
is unnervingprogressive
-
have been unnervingperfect progressive
-
has been unnervingperfect progressive
Past
-
unnervedsimple
-
had unnervedperfect
-
was unnervingprogressive
-
were unnervingprogressive
-
had been unnervingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unnerve
Explanation
To unnerve someone is to make them feel scared or confused. Haunted houses are meant to unnerve you — though there may be nothing that unnerves you more than the first day at a new school. The original meaning of unnerve, dating back to the 17th century, was "to destroy the strength of." The source of this definition was a now-obsolete meaning of nerve, "to give strength and vigor." Today when you unnerve someone, instead of destroying their strength, you destroy their composure — in other words, you make them nervous or uncertain.
Vocabulary lists containing unnerve
This Week in Words: January 5 - 11, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Treacy at Apex sees any change in the Fed’s language around the risk of inflation due to geopolitical conflict as likely to unnerve investors.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026
“A conflict like this has the clear potential to unnerve international businesses operating in the Gulf,” said Michael Ratney, who served as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia under the Biden administration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 28, 2026
There could be production or sales hiccups that unnerve investors.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
The philosophy is that endless white walls can unnerve patients, while colour can be a pleasant distraction from their problems.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
Each afternoon he carries me downstairs for a change of scenery and I unnerve everyone by turning on the television.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
A 2006 US embassy cable described him as the BNP's "heir apparent" who "inspires few but unnerves many".
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
The Department of Homeland Security’s intense push to ramp up deportations is dragging in even the dead as it unnerves immigrant households and crams court calendars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2025
A feast for the curiosity-starved brain, “Invention” is the kind of revelatory work that inspires and unnerves in equal measure, a distinctly modern masterpiece that maps the rabbit hole in a way only cinema can.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
But what viewers always focus on are the moments where one candidate has a zinger of a line, or somehow unnerves their opponent, or simply seems more in control.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2024
The anxiety on his face unnerves me, because I always expect him to be the strongest of us.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
The local postmaster, a Jacksonian Democrat named Alfred Huger, was unnerved by what he considered inflammatory content and sequestered the abolitionist material, rather than comply with his legal obligation to deliver the mail.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
Having felt confident I would get a clean bill of health - especially when it comes to my skin - I was a bit unnerved to discover that I'd need to have extra tests.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
The 24-year-old Howard University law student has spent weeks steering clear of produce, unnerved by cyclospora outbreaks that have made thousands of people sick this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
You can smell the fire dozens of kilometres away, and its smoke has partly blocked out the sun: the huge wildfire north of Madrid has unnerved officials and evacuees alike.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
He had been in the squadron less than a month and was noticeably unnerved by being thrust into competition so early in his tenure with the squadron.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
They are happy to get away from that city, where they were plagued by unnerving but undescribed events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
She paid tribute to the two officers who died in the A66 crash and said she recognised how "unnerving" the current climate would be for the "law abiding citizens" in the community.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
While the bond-market selloff has been unnerving some investors, it probably doesn’t represent a crisis moment for a stock market that was just getting on its feet after the summer’s chip-driven slump.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
How unnerving that its creation scarred its creator.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
For someone used to being off the grid, the attention on me feels a little unnerving.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
