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
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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:
Amazon’s expansion of its logistics business tends to unnerve investors.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
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
Energy turmoil could unnerve investors already worried about how much tech companies are spending on data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
Some investors said that replacing Reeves now could unnerve financial markets.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
He could unnerve almost everyone by growling at them, but not Maria.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Based in the English city of Bristol, George has an on-the-spectrum manner that unnerves some colleagues, but his record of solving cases is a source of envy on his squad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
A 2006 US embassy cable said he "inspires few but unnerves many".
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
It’s a disconcerting choice, one that hypnotizes as much as it unnerves.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2024
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 only thing about him that unnerves me is the dark look that falls over him when I tell him about something that Marcus said or that Jay Oh and Adrian have done.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow said investors have also become unnerved by an expected sales dip for Conagra’s ongoing quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Yet this latest obstacle has truly unnerved him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
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
He was deeply depressed and unnerved by every knock.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
In early images released by A24 Holmes is shown maintaining intense, unnerving eye contact with Fielder, scenes that made even him "uncomfortable," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
But not accounting for Galliano’s 15 years of sobriety, his frank apologies, and his continued remorse is somewhat unnerving.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
Although the photographs share the unnerving intensity characteristic of his films, Lynch understood the two disciplines as distinct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 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
After all this research, he had worked up a slightly unnerving spreadsheet and kept a copy tucked into his wallet.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
