unsettle
to alter from a settled state; cause to be no longer firmly fixed or established; render unstable; disturb: Violence unsettled the government.
to shake or weaken (beliefs, feelings, etc.); cause doubt or uncertainty about: doubts unsettling his religious convictions.
to vex or agitate the mind or emotions of; upset; discompose: The quarrel unsettled her.
to become unfixed or disordered.
Origin of unsettle
1Other words for unsettle
Words Nearby unsettle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use unsettle in a sentence
Noises unsettle him, except in the woods, where he can identify them with precision.
Fresh off a Pulitzer win for ‘The Overstory,’ Richard Powers delivers another environmental ode | Ron Charles | September 21, 2021 | Washington PostThe Labor Department released jobless claim numbers on Thursday that suggest a stagnant hiring market newly unsettled by increasing cases of the delta variant in some parts of the country.
U.S. economy grew at annual rate of 6.5% between April and June, marking full recovery from pandemic | Rachel Siegel, Andrew Van Dam | July 29, 2021 | Washington PostMeanwhile, regional neighbors are calling for international intervention to prevent further unrest in a country already unsettled by months of street protests against Moïse’s extended rule.
Assassination of Haitian president becomes complex international web | Widlore Merancourt, Anthony Faiola, Rachel Pannett, Shawn Boburg | July 9, 2021 | Washington PostOne song, “Molasses to Rum,” unsettled many northerners with the revelation that their ancestors were just as complicit in slavery as any Virginia tobacco planter.
’1776’ — not ‘Hamilton’ — is the musical that best portrays the Founders | Zachary Clary | July 1, 2021 | Washington PostI was now on a dark path, questioning the limits of human understanding, unsettled by a future filled with big data and small comprehension.
An Existential Crisis in Neuroscience - Issue 94: Evolving | Grigori Guitchounts | December 30, 2020 | Nautilus
Roberts has staked his survival on branding Orman with the label most likely to unsettle undecided Kansans.
A Loss by Pat Roberts in Kansas? Actually, Not So Bizarre | Jeff Greenfield | October 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe flying debris and open sewage were the first of many shocks that would unsettle an unprepared visitor.
But her aura of mystery and capricious habits unsettle him, too, and Marcenat discovers Odile having an affair.
I could foresee a catastrophe which would for ever unsettle the two towns, and give the valley an unenviable reputation.
Mrs. Falchion, Complete | Gilbert ParkerThey were forever settling the matter, positively and finally—but alas, only to have something unsettle it again.
Love's Pilgrimage | Upton SinclairThey unsettle the popular mind concerning eternal principles of justice.
The Duty of Disobedience to the Fugitive Slave Act | Lydia Maria ChildFar be it from me to try to unsettle your mind or lead you any further until you feel that you need leading.
All He Knew | John HabbertonThe Indian of the plains had as yet seen little to unsettle his assurance of everlasting dominion.
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce | Ambrose Bierce
British Dictionary definitions for unsettle
/ (ʌnˈsɛtəl) /
(usually tr) to change or become changed from a fixed or settled condition
(tr) to confuse or agitate (emotions, the mind, etc)
Derived forms of unsettle
- unsettlement, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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