- present participle of unnerve.
unnerving
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unnerving
Explanation
Use the adjective unnerving to describe situations and experiences that cause you to lose your courage. No matter how brave you are, a walk alone through a cemetery at night is bound to be a little unnerving. You might find it unnerving to get a flat tire on a deserted country road at sunset, or to find yourself onstage mid-play having completely forgotten your lines. In the 1620's, the root word unnerve meant "to destroy the strength of," but by the early 1700's it came to mean "to deprive of courage."
Vocabulary lists containing unnerving
The Dead and the Gone
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Ten Words from The New York Times - June 5, 2013
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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.
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
The album would include one of her most beloved tracks — the tender-sung piano ballad “Ay Amor!” — as well as “Esta Soledad,” which underscored an unnerving grief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
“Our parents were delighted when they found out what we could do,” said Eye, blinking in a slow, unnerving way.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
