Synonym Chooser

How does the verb unnerve differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of unnerve are emasculate, enervate, and unman. While all these words mean "to deprive of strength or vigor and the capacity for effective action," unnerve implies marked often temporary loss of courage, self-control, or power to act.

unnerved by the near collision

When can emasculate be used instead of unnerve?

In some situations, the words emasculate and unnerve are roughly equivalent. However, emasculate stresses a depriving of characteristic force by removing something essential.

an amendment that emasculates existing safeguards

Where would enervate be a reasonable alternative to unnerve?

The words enervate and unnerve are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, enervate suggests a gradual physical or moral weakening (as through luxury or indolence) until one is too feeble to make an effort.

a nation's youth enervated by affluence and leisure

When is unman a more appropriate choice than unnerve?

The synonyms unman and unnerve are sometimes interchangeable, but unman implies a loss of manly vigor, fortitude, or spirit.

a soldier unmanned by the terrors of battle

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unnerve At the same time, a torrent of misinformation on Musk’s platform – plenty of it born from anger over high levels of migration – has unnerved Europe’s governments. Rob Picheta, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025 The reports of arson and explicit graffiti have unnerved a nation that prides itself on being a multicultural and tolerant society and where a third of the population was born overseas. Victoria Kim, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025 That has unnerved some experts, who worry that a decline in birth rates may have more to do with modern lifestyles than concerns about affordability. Amanda Gerut, Fortune Asia, 12 Dec. 2024 Russia is trying to unnerve civilians and wear down their will to resist in the almost 3-year-old war, military analysts say. Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 26 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for unnerve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unnerve
Verb
  • During one of the most severe outbreaks in 1952, the virus infected 58,000 people in the US, paralyzed more than 21,000 and killed more than 3,100.
    Neha Mukherjee, CNN, 3 Mar. 2025
  • The shooting left dozens wounded, including an 8-year-old boy who was partially paralyzed.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Trump wanted to discourage DEI efforts by corporations and others.
    Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
  • None of the other 23 states that allow initiatives, most in the Midwest and West, go so far out of their way to discourage them.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • On the streets, conservative protesters, frightened that the left could win the next election, have rallied to Yoon.
    ROBERT E. KELLY, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2025
  • That frightened stray kitten forgot her fears and moved up on that ball of paper and batted it across the floor and then batted it again.
    Carole Wendt, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The use of generic, impersonal responses frustrates customers.
    Rob Lancit, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Struggling to adapt to announcements regarding trade, and whether to treat them as threats that may not evolve into policy, has frustrated Hassane El-Khoury, CEO of ON Semiconductor.
    Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • They are devastated by what has happened, and terrified of what could happen if the current ceasefire collapses and the war and bombing resumes.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
  • The very idea of going to the Oscars on acid sounds terrifying AF, but so does coming off acid in the middle of the Oscars, which also happened to Parker and Stone.
    Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Antonio Reyes, a 21-year-old police say shot and killed six people as a teenager, is behind bars but remains a terror, intimidating guards and attempting to kill fellow inmates.
    Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
  • But, after an eight-year hiatus, teeing off in front of people was intimidating.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • In 2023, a bear barged into a bakery in Avon, scared employees and helped itself to 60 cupcakes before ambling away.
    Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 1 Mar. 2025
  • The Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library in South Florida claims that that state and federal anti-LGBTQ policies have siphoned off the institution’s operating budget and scared off corporate investors, leaving the museum in financial peril.
    Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 28 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Unnerve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unnerve. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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