unnerve
verb
Simple meaning
To make somebody nervous, upset, alarm, shake the resolve of.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhnurvSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈnɝv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
To make somebody nervous, upset, alarm, shake the resolve of.
To deprive of nerve, force, or strength; to weaken; to enfeeble. Compare enervate.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To make somebody nervous, upset, alarm, shake the resolve of.
Used this way, unnerve is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to make somebody nervous or upset or alarm
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