to unbalance

Examples

• All

• The unexpected loss of his job really unbalanced his mental state, causing him to feel anxious and withdrawn.

• The surprise unbalanced him entirely, and he pitched backward, but not before hearing a musket ball pass far too close.

  Fiction book (1995)

• Your rage has unbalanced you.

  Excalibur (1981)

• Any effort to speak to the paramedics, if sustained for more than a word or two, might unbalance her and send her into a long, dark fall.

  Fiction book (1992)

• - Yes, it must've unbalanced him.

  King of the Rocket Men (1949)

• Once a family is engaged in the therapeutic process, it is then safe to gently unbalance the family system and restructure some of its rules or boundaries.

  Academic text (2002)

• Similarly, one must try to exercise one’s brain to remove any unbalancing thoughts, ensuring a more open-minded way of looking at things.

  Blog text (10)

• Odds are, Not-Vertigo's superpower—the ability to disorient and unbalance his victims—will remain intact.

  Blog text (9)

• His constant criticism began to unbalance her, leaving her feeling nervous and unsure of herself.

• After the traumatic experience, she found that it took a long time to recover from how deeply it had unbalanced her mind.

Synonyms

T

to throw off balance

vsto unbalance

4 5.4

To make someone feel confused or unsure after a sudden change

is more severe, producing lasting mental instability or insanity

D

to derange

vsto unbalance

2 8.7

Make someone unable to think clearly or act normally

is about causing loss of mental stability more generally

U

to unhinge

vsto unbalance

1 7.9

To make someone very upset or unable to think clearly

focuses more on causing full loss of mental stability or madness

T

to throw off keel

vsto unbalance

8.1

Cause someone to feel confused and upset

is stronger, aiming at complete loss of mental stability or sanity

U

to unfix

vsto unbalance

9.1

Make someone feel upset and unable to think clearly

raises this to a full loss of mental stability or insanity

U

to untune

vsto unbalance

• Archaic

8.9

To make someone lose their calm and feel upset

goes further, producing actual loss of mental stability or insanity

O

to overbalance

vsto unbalance

6.7

To make something lose balance or become unsteady

applies more narrowly to causing actual loss of mental stability or madness

Antonyms

S

to stabilize

• US

75 4.3

To become steady and stop changing

How Unsettling

to drive (someone) crazy

• Informal

271 3.9

to unbalance

1 7.0

to unhinge

1 7.9

to disturb

153 2.5

to unsettle

7 4.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology