ˌən-ˈset-liŋ
1
as in disturbing
causing worry or anxiety
unsettling new developments in the effort to bring peace and stability to that region
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
had the unsettling task of picking out a coffin and making the other funeral arrangements for his father
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in alarming
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
the news that the local grocery store had sold contaminated produce unsettled many shoppers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unsettling
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 1 Feb. 2026
The rest of Raimi’s horror output more openly embraced comedy; this first film finds a more unsettling balance of the genres.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 3 Dec. 2025
Aggie’s blood visibly rises, but Nile keeps his unsettling cool throughout the whole interaction.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsettling
Adjective
The doc explores the unsettling clash between history and memory in a small Mississippi town that’s become an antebellum tourist destination.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 1 Feb. 2026
The rest of Raimi’s horror output more openly embraced comedy; this first film finds a more unsettling balance of the genres.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Verb
Few know the alchemy of unsettling audio design better than Nine Inch Nails and one-time Guns n’ Roses guitarist Robin Finck, who toured with NIN from 1994 to 2000, and returned for their subsequent road shows from 2013 to the present.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 3 Dec. 2025
Aggie’s blood visibly rises, but Nile keeps his unsettling cool throughout the whole interaction.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsettling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsettling
Adjective
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Keira, a junior, said current events have been disturbing.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
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Protesters gathered outside of an Inglewood daycare facility on Friday to express their outrage over a disturbing video that shows a teacher throwing her shoe at a 5-year-old student with autism in January.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Stage’s version translates the already uneasy feelings of hearing acid house reduced to happy-go-lucky plastic into something out of an actual acid trip.—
Billie Bugara,
Pitchfork,
7 Feb. 2026
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Bashar is on the left, his body slightly angled away, his face uneasy.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Recently, something new appeared on the landscape, alarming wildlife advocates like Christina Aiello.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
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After her husband took her pets out of the room, Bloor then faced the even more delicate task of safely removing herself from the bed without alarming the snake.—
Phil Boucher,
PEOPLE,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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What’s even more troubling is how often discrimination and violence are witnessed and met with silence.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
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What’s particularly troubling Green is that his utility company gave him no warning or explanation for the spike in costs.—
Tami Luhby,
CNN Money,
12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Rather than trying to defuse a tense situation, officers abruptly used physical or chemical force.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
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If true, this likely suggests a very tense intercept scenario, perhaps even shadowing or escorting away from Chinese airspace.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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To match the child actor who plays young Neil, Levitt wears blue contacts over his naturally brown eyes, which aren’t nearly as distracting in this pass.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
10 Feb. 2026
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Next, a Route 66 sign appears briefly along the periphery, surrounded by additional distracting road signs.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The bodycam video was an eye-opening look at the frightening aftermath of the Brown campus shooting when police were searching room-by-room for the suspect, trying to comfort and care for terrified students, and trying to coordinate with campus police to get past locked doors.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
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In 2017 Dikansh Parmar of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change in Germany, rescued an Indian cobra (Naja naja) coiled around a train’s window bars that was hissing and, understandably, frightening passengers.—
Richard Kemeny,
Scientific American,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The Fall-Off can sometimes feel simpatico and obvious, with mellifluously soulful tones that conjure an air of anxious nostalgia.—
Mosi Reeves,
Rolling Stone,
9 Feb. 2026
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At the same time, consumers appeared less anxious about inflation.—
Benzinga,
Freep.com,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unsettling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsettling. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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