UNMANNING Synonyms: 91 Similar and Opposite Words

unmanning

verb

present participle of unman

as in paralyzing

to deprive of courage or confidence the near crash of the airliner was a completely unmanning experience for the passengers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in discouraging

to lessen the courage or confidence of players who wouldn't let themselves be unmanned by the loss of a single game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmanning

Verb

The suddenness of it all was terrifying, even paralyzing, and yet, at the same time, oddly relieving.

— Andrew Lipstein, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2026
The attacks and the air raid alerts that accompany them have severely disrupted life in the city, forcing millions to constantly seek shelter and paralyzing the capital’s businesses and transport networks.

— Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of paralyzing

Verb

Amid reports of a surge in federal immigration raids, Los Angeles leaders and immigration advocates said Friday that the efforts appear aimed at discouraging turnout in the midterm elections, and urged voters not to be intimidated.

— Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
In response, Cobb County police plan to increase patrols on and around the holiday and other departments are discouraging participation.

— Caroline Silva, AJC.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of discouraging

Verb

Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.

— Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.

— Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 15 May 2026

Definition of frightening

Verb

But Algo’s hyper-logical, computerised process of consistently picking the favourites to win was undone in the second match of the day, with Ghana frustrating England in a 0-0 draw.

— The Athletic Soccer Experts, New York Times, 24 June 2026
The documentary’s contradiction is right there, enthralling us with the wild achievements Potter pulled off and frustrating us with his bombast, leading us to ponder whether, as The Dark Wizard suggests, either could exist without the other.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 May 2026

Definition of frustrating

Verb

Though privacy concerns around these agents’ access may be terrifying in their own right, for now the utopian vision seems to be winning.

— Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2026
Still, Douglas is unflinching in the book about how physically abusive and terrifying his dad was to him and his brother.

— Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of terrifying

Verb

It’s long been intimidating for immigrants who suffered abuse to call 911, regardless of who was in the White House.

— Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, 14 Oct. 2026
And while cracking open an iPod will never not be intimidating, at least the Sprout doesn’t require any soldering.

— Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of intimidating

Verb

Such actions are scaring people away from coming to court, whether as witnesses, defendants or observers, Bonta said, and amount to a blatant abuse of power.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
The Longhorns aren't scaring anyone on offense and Sarkisian has come under fire for his play calling.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of scaring

Verb

In the political sphere—an arena that’s increasingly entangled with social media—figures such as Elon Musk decry empathy as an emasculating plague.

— Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
And yet precisely this dynamic ensures that commitment between men, the kind of domesticity that David and Giovanni attempt to establish in Giovanni’s room, can only ever be emasculating.

— Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025

Definition of emasculating

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.

Browse Nearby Words

unmannerly

unmanning

unmans

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Unmanning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmanning. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of unmanning

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes