unsettle

American  

[uhn-set-l] / ʌnˈsɛt 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.

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verb (used without object)

unsettled, unsettling

1. to become unfixed or disordered.

unsettle British  

/ 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)

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Other Word Forms

• unsettlement noun

Etymology

Origin of unsettle

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

Example Sentences

Ian Littleworth’s Happy, the dissolute son always looking for an easy way out, seems unsettled not only in his bearings but in his command of the script.

From Los Angeles Times

Others were more sympathetic but still unsettled by what he was doing not only to himself but also to his teenage children, who will have to deal with the ugly reactions of social-media ghouls.

From The Wall Street Journal

For, screaming children aside, All Hallows’ Eve was already a most unsettling time.

From Literature

That also has unsettling contextual implications that the writers can’t gloss over.

From Salon

Creepy ring iconography crowded my consciousness: the unsettling surveillance of Amazon ring devices.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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