unnerve
/ʌnˈnɜː(ɹ)v/verb
unnerve is spelled U-N-N-E-R-V-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, unnerve means “To deprive of nerve, force, or strength; to weaken; to enfeeble. Compare enervate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unnerve?
| Letters | 7: U-N-N-E-R-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 105,204th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unnerve?
Unnerve appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unnerve?
- /ʌnˈnɜː(ɹ)v/
Unnerve has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unnerve.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unnerve
- unnerves present, singular, he/she/it
- unnerving participle, present
- unnerved participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unnerve mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To deprive of nerve, force, or strength; to weaken; to enfeeble. Compare enervate.
to unnerve the arm
- 2
To make somebody nervous, upset, alarm, shake the resolve of.
I was greatly unnerved by the news that my attacker was back in the country.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unnerve in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unnerve come from?
From un- + nerve.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).