Word: disquieting (adjective)

Associations

"Disquieting" means causing worry, unease, or anxiety. It describes something that makes you feel uncomfortable or nervous inside.

• The news about the storm was disquieting. It made people worried about their safety.
• His disquieting silence made me think something was wrong.
• There was a disquieting feeling in the room after the argument. A well-known synonym is "disturbing." The difference is that "disturbing" often implies something more shocking or upsetting, while "disquieting" is more about a quiet, uneasy feeling.

Substitution

You can use:

• unsettling – also means causing discomfort or worry, often about something unknown.
• worrying – focuses more on causing concern or anxiety.
• troubling – means causing distress or concern, often stronger than disquieting. Using these words can change the feeling slightly. For example, "unsettling" might suggest confusion or surprise, while "worrying" is more direct about concern.

Deconstruction

"Disquieting" comes from the root "quiet," meaning calm or peaceful.

• Prefix "dis-" means "not" or "opposite of."
• Suffix "-ing" turns it into an adjective describing something that causes the action. So "disquieting" literally means "not quiet" or "causing a lack of peace."

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when you felt disquieting? What caused it?
• How is disquieting different from feeling scared or angry?
• Can something be disquieting but not dangerous? Why or why not?