How to Use unnerve in a Sentence

unnerve

verb
  • Seeing the police in there unnerved me.
  • She was unnerved by his strange manner.
  • Briony then leads Jamie down a line of questioning that unnerves him.
    — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
  • There’s no shortage of risks that could unnerve markets in the coming months.
    — Krystal Hur, CNN, 18 June 2024
  • There was never a doubt in my mind—still isn’t—and in some ways this certainty unnerved me.
    — Daisy Jones, Vogue, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Why have markets held up when the prospect of a trade war unnerves many on Wall Street?
    — BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2018
  • There’s something unnerving about the mundane thwack of the rhythms.
    — Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Why have the markets held up when the prospect of a trade war unnerves many on Wall Street?
    — Peter Eavis, New York Times, 17 June 2018
  • And a truck can be perfectly safe even when close enough to unnerve a bicyclist.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 12 Nov. 2019
  • The drink was nice and smooth, but there’s something deeply unnerving about a cocktail that tastes like a hot dog.
    — Drew Magary, GQ, 27 May 2018
  • Remarkably, Gretchen is the only one who seems to be unnerved by any of this.
    — Hannah Strong, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2024
  • For one, Trump’s praise for Putin in the past has unnerved Europe.
    — Tracy Wilkinson, chicagotribune.com, 31 May 2017
  • Over the years, some Bay Area teachers have been unnerved by the program.
    — Karen De Sa, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2018
  • The idea unnerves critics but thrills its architects.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 6 May 2026
  • The bunt — or Sabathia’s poor throw, which pulled Bird off first base — seemed to unnerve Sabathia.
    — Billy Witz, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2017
  • But the way the Warriors looked in this 1-3 start is unnerving, to say the least.
    — Ron Kroichick, SFChronicle.com, 30 Oct. 2019
  • Investors, unnerved by recent global events, rushed to sell off stocks and buy up bonds, driving prices up and yields down.
    — The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 31 May 2018
  • Her normally placid town has been unnerved by the government’s push to weaken the courts.
    — Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2023
  • Tim, who massages the scar twice a day, for two minutes at a time, still feels unnerved by the sight and feel of his daughter’s tiny chest.
    — Anndee Hochman, Philly.com, 19 Jan. 2018
  • But Mulaney’s isn’t the only show that could unnerve the usual late-night lineup.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 June 2024
  • Slumps fail to unnerve Cronenworth, the Padres learned first-hand a season ago.
    — Bryce Miller Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2021
  • An image of the two of them, unnerving in its obscene splendor, flickered on the bedroom wall.
    — Sigrid Nunez, The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2024
  • The news angered some parents who were unnerved by the presence of assault weapons on school campuses.
    — Tribune News Service, NOLA.com, 12 June 2017
  • The series has plenty of light and funny moments, but the overall tone is unnerving.
    — Brianna Wellen, Chicago Reader, 30 Apr. 2018
  • There’s not some discount for human interaction based into that that should unnerve us all.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
  • When the brothers came face-to-face, each wearing a vest and medallions and bell-bottoms, the mirror image unnerved them both.
    — Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
  • League One Rochdale settled very quickly and appeared unnerved by the big stage, looking bright on the counter.
    — SI.com, 25 Sep. 2019
  • Somehow, perhaps unnerved by the clanks and clunks, Fanucci had escaped his crate, pulled down the window and leapt out.
    — Ben Walker, The Seattle Times, 11 Feb. 2018
  • John Micklethwait's Sunday memo unnerved some of the staffers who received it.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN, 26 Nov. 2019
  • In the first episode Desmond’s kind of defined by his ability to unnerve people without saying a word.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 22 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unnerve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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