unrest
/ʌnˈɹɛst/noun
unrest is spelled U-N-R-E-S-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, unrest means “A state of trouble, confusion and turbulence, especially in a political context; a time of riots, demonstrations and protests” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of unrest is unrests.
How many letters and syllables are in unrest?
| Letters | 6: U-N-R-E-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th 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 unrest?
Unrest appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th 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 unrest?
- /ʌnˈɹɛst/
Unrest 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: En-us-unrest.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unrest
- unrests plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unrest mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A state of trouble, confusion and turbulence, especially in a political context; a time of riots, demonstrations and protests.
- 2
Something that troubles or confuses; that which causes unrest.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unrest in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense state of trouble:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | agitation |
| German | Unruhen |
| Portuguese | inquietação |
| Spanish | inquietud, descontento, descontentamiento |
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 unrest come from?
From Middle English unreste, equivalent to un- + rest. Cognate with West Frisian ûnrêst (“unrest”), Dutch onrust (“unrest”), German Low German Unrüst (“unrest”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Uunraue (“unrest”), German Unruhe (“unrest”), Danish uro (“unrest”), Swedish oro (“unrest”), Icelandic órói (“unrest”). Compare also Old English orrest (“battle”), Old Norse orrosta, orresta (“battle”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).