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

The unrequited love routine is a bit embarrassing and, for whoever they eventually manage to get in the head coach's chair, possibly a touch unsettling.

Read more on BBC

And yet you get the feeling Doncic is still a bit unsettled.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A closer look later at the paperwork provided by the seller revealed something else unsettling: Ted wasn’t bred in California.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Like any number of unsettled heroes from gothic novels, he fears that he is losing his bearings and his sanity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These numbers are getting more attention while the federal government shutdown keeps the lights off at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, delaying new data in an unsettled time for the jobs market.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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