as in disturbingly
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Recent Examples of unsettlingly
On the season premiere of It Happened in Hollywood, director Lynne Littman and star Jane Alexander, nominated for an Oscar for her performance, revisit the film’s enduring impact, offering a deeply personal look at a project that still feels unsettlingly urgent.
—
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
Disappearances are still unsettlingly high.
—Angélica Durán-Martínez, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2026
Otherwise, the streets are unsettlingly quiet.
—Vivian Song, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
In these 2-foot-square pictures, long-haired nude female figures in close Edenic companionship with wild beasts poke their heads out from behind lush tropical foliage, and stare, unsettlingly, straight outward.
—Benjamin Lima, Dallas Morning News, 5 Feb. 2026
There is a curious absence of any patience in exploring the forces shaping their unsettlingly growing worldview.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
The book blends reportage, moral inquiry, and political analysis in a way that still feels unsettlingly contemporary fifty-four years after it was published.
—Literary Hub, 19 Dec. 2025
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s unsettlingly close—and undeniably bold—bond throughout the Wicked press tour has become its own cultural phenomenon, complete with headlines, memes, and dating rumors.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 11 Dec. 2025
When her daughter had an unsettlingly similar experience at her own school years later, Wilson finally decided to act on the longtime dream of starting her own school.
—Nashville Tennessean, 3 Dec. 2025
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
Disappearances are still unsettlingly high.
—Angélica Durán-Martínez, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2026
Otherwise, the streets are unsettlingly quiet.
—Vivian Song, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
In these 2-foot-square pictures, long-haired nude female figures in close Edenic companionship with wild beasts poke their heads out from behind lush tropical foliage, and stare, unsettlingly, straight outward.
—Benjamin Lima, Dallas Morning News, 5 Feb. 2026
There is a curious absence of any patience in exploring the forces shaping their unsettlingly growing worldview.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
The book blends reportage, moral inquiry, and political analysis in a way that still feels unsettlingly contemporary fifty-four years after it was published.
—Literary Hub, 19 Dec. 2025
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s unsettlingly close—and undeniably bold—bond throughout the Wicked press tour has become its own cultural phenomenon, complete with headlines, memes, and dating rumors.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 11 Dec. 2025
When her daughter had an unsettlingly similar experience at her own school years later, Wilson finally decided to act on the longtime dream of starting her own school.
—Nashville Tennessean, 3 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsettlingly
Adverb
-
Trump has been disturbingly clear that this isn’t about creating better elections.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Lonely young men on the internet, gun culture, school shootings and a need to be seen are themes colliding in Oscar Boyson‘s disturbingly twisted feature film debut Our Hero, which might just be a little too real to be a comfortable watch for many.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
25 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The funny thing is, Austin fathered seven children in all, but only Dot, Betty and Helen were coerced into performing, and their father’s monomania is compared, quite alarmingly, to such bullying stage fathers as Murray Wilson (The Beach Boys) and Joe Jackson (The Jackson 5).—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
-
For one — and perhaps most alarmingly — the home, built in 1937, didn’t have a proper foundation, according to Handler.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
11 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
In essence, Bright Lights, Big City, instead of being emotionally provoking and riveting, is distressingly gray and tedious, enlivened only by Fox’s gifted histrionics.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Apr. 2026
-
More distressingly, their 11 losses last season didn’t just mark the head coach’s first losing season since his tenure in Kansas City began in 2013.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
1 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Free speech has become a major liability in a disgustingly litigious society.—
Jesse Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
-
These include those who disgustingly celebrated the murder of Brian Thompson and all but beatified his alleged assassin, and those who made light of and mocked the attack on Pelosi’s family and the Minnesota lawmakers.—
Agustina Vergara Cid,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Aaron, with divine intervention, turns the dust of the land into gnats that irritatingly cover humans and animals throughout Egypt.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
-
No Diego Luna for Best Actor, no Stellan Skarsgård for Best Supporting Actor, no Elizabeth Dulau for Best Supporting Actress, and, most irritatingly of all, no Genevieve O’Reilly for Best Actress.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
Except for grackles, pigeons, house sparrows and other annoyingly social types that adore the company of humans, most birds will be found in green spaces far from the SXSW noise and crowds in or near downtown.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
5 Mar. 2026
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But for me, the whole process—taking everything off the bed, washing all the pieces, and finding a place to store it all—is annoyingly tedious.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
20 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The willingness of the officers to jump into some awfully cold water was for a good cause – Special Olympics Illinois — is admirable.—
Clifford Ward,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Emma is a literary editor, though the specifics are awfully vague—a late subplot involving challenges on the job feels particularly superficial—and her love for literature seems to begin and end with that novel in the café.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
2 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Hopefully just not as traumatically — although Holly’s already had a slightly traumatic childhood.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Unsettlingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsettlingly. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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