unsettle

[uhn-set-l]

verb (used with object)

unsettled, unsettling 

1. to alter from a settled state; cause to be no longer firmly fixed or established; render unstable; disturb.

   Violence unsettled the government.

2. to shake or weaken (beliefs, feelings, etc.); cause doubt or uncertainty about.

   doubts unsettling his religious convictions.

   Synonyms: disconcert, confuse, unbalance, disturb, upset

3. to vex or agitate the mind or emotions of; upset; discompose.

   The quarrel unsettled her.

verb (used without object)

unsettled, unsettling 

1. to become unfixed or disordered.

unsettle

/ ʌnˈsɛtəl /

verb

1. (usually tr) to change or become changed from a fixed or settled condition

2. (tr) to confuse or agitate (emotions, the mind, etc)

Other Word Forms

• unsettlement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unsettle¹

First recorded in 1535–45; un- ² + settle ¹

Example Sentences

But this switch is accompanied by unsettled weather with Met Office yellow weather warnings for strong winds into Friday.

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The unsavoury saga has been unsettling for the players, but GB guard Josh Ward-Hibbert believes it will not affect their performance against Lithuania.

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But the same day, the intensity of the Woolsey fire in the Santa Monica Mountains — similarly plagued with evacuation challenges — unsettled fire officials.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For the unsettling answer, look at what’s buzzing mysteriously in the skies above Europe’s cities.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While the federal data are incomplete, there are other signs that the labor market remains unsettled.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agitate 
• confuse 
• disconcert 
• disorganize 
• disquiet 
• disrupt 
• disturb 
• perturb 
• rattle 
• unnerve