unsettle
Americanverb (used with object)
-
unsettles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unsettled,
past participle, past
-
unsettling
present participle
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- disconcert, confuse, unbalance, disturb, upset
-
to vex or agitate the mind or emotions of; upset; discompose.
The quarrel unsettled her.
verb (used without object)
-
unsettles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unsettled,
past participle, past
-
unsettling
present participle
verb
-
(usually tr) to change or become changed from a fixed or settled condition
-
(tr) to confuse or agitate (emotions, the mind, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unsettlesimple
-
unsettlessimple
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have unsettledperfect
-
has unsettledperfect
-
am unsettlingprogressive
-
are unsettlingprogressive
-
is unsettlingprogressive
-
have been unsettlingperfect progressive
-
has been unsettlingperfect progressive
Past
-
unsettledsimple
-
had unsettledperfect
-
was unsettlingprogressive
-
were unsettlingprogressive
-
had been unsettlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unsettle
Explanation
To unsettle is to make someone feel disconcerted and disturbed. After you watch a scary horror movie, every little sound in your dark house will probably unsettle you. Things that leave you uneasy or anxious unsettle you, whether you receive a creepy prank phone call or have to start at a new school after moving in the middle of the year. A spooky mystery novel might unsettle you, especially if you read it at night, while falling stock prices tend to unsettle Wall Street experts. Use this verb whenever things feel upsetting and unstable.
Vocabulary lists containing unsettle
Power Prefix: un-
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: un-
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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:
He specifically says he won’t unsettle the financial markets that rely on having an independent Fed.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
A five-year outlook does appear to have slipped into 1Q FY 2027, but that’s unlikely to unsettle investors given the strong gold-market backdrop, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
His returns were often unorthodox and he was fond of a lobbed service return to unsettle opponents.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
The artworks are as likely to unsettle as they are to move.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
Then the monkey words would unsettle me; a curtain flapped loose inside my brain.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
The judges said: "An affecting and lush jewel of a novel that moves between our present-day world to a medieval court and unsettles the idea that there's ever one universal historical truth."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The grand old man of Victorian letters was once a young romantic whose grief-soaked verse still dazzles and unsettles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
“It roils the markets,” he said, adding that it unsettles both investors and the legal framework surrounding the Fed.
From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026
What unsettles me is how eagerly people rush to perform the worst versions of themselves when given permission.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025
There is an urgency to her that unsettles me, a warning in her words beyond the obvious.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
The Lakers have wing depth, but could bolster their center options beyond Kessler and backup Kevon Looney, and are unsettled at power forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
The report that unsettled the market was the S&P Global U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026
Many KMT members and other Taiwanese were unsettled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
The largest global survey of physicists ever conducted has revealed just how unsettled some of the biggest questions in modern physics remain.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
He shoved the box farther away, so that the unsettled dust rose up, making him sneeze.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
Hartnett’s work is dynamic and unsettling, making what could be a forgettable tertiary character into an integral part of the story that viewers hold in the back of their minds, even when he’s offscreen.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
The Canadian comedian, writer and producer Fielder is famous for harnessing the power of awkwardness, cringe and deadpan wit to great, if unsettling, comedic effect.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
There are so many scary diseases out there that I had to wonder: Is there something about plague that is particularly unsettling?
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
The memo arrives in employees’ inboxes with unsettling news but few specifics: Layoffs are coming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
“But that is their business, not mine. What matters is that now he will be fully occupied with his ostrich-racing business and forget all those unsettling things he said about the children.”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
