🛠️ To detach 😵 To unsettle 🧪 To remove fixative 👀 To look away

to unfix

9.1

Make someone feel upset and unable to think clearly

verb
/ʌnˈfɪks/

: perturbar

When he heard the criticisms, it unfixes his confidence in his abilities.

Examples

Seeing her old friends unexpectedly unfixes his carefully maintained composure.
The unexpected news unfixes me, making it hard to concentrate on anything else.
However, the exercise then is to unfix the point by getting to know the subject intimately.

Blog text (27)
This is the kind of mistake that can take a Hindu's lifetime to unfix...

Fiction book (1990)
If good… why do I yield to that suggestion… whose horrid image doth unfix my hair… and make my seated heart knock at my ribs against the use of nature?

Macbeth (1971)

Synonyms

to throw

vsto unfix

321 7.8

To make someone feel confused or unsure

emphasizes causing loss of stability and composure more than mere confusion

to disturb

vsto unfix

153 2.5

Make someone feel deeply worried or upset

is more specifically about losing composure and internal stability

to terrify

vsto unfix

148 3.2

To make someone feel very frightened

focuses on causing loss of composure and stability rather than pure fear

to appall

vsto unfix

64 5.5

To make someone feel shocked and very upset by something cruel or wrong

is narrower, centering on loss of steady composure rather than shock

to upset

vsto unfix

57 3.0

Make something fall over or move out of place

is more about emotional loss of composure and stability rather than general disorder

to shake up

vsto unfix

41 4.2

To upset someone strongly and change how they feel

is narrower, focusing on loss of steady composure and mental balance

to faze

vsto unfix

23 7.1

Make someone feel upset or lose confidence

focuses on broader mental destabilization, not only loss of confidence

to unnerve

vsto unfix

20 6.3

To make someone feel nervous and less confident

focuses on broader mental destabilization beyond mere nervousness

to weird out

vsto unfix

Informal

12 8.4

Make someone feel strange or uncomfortable

is broader and stronger, meaning real loss of composure or stability

to stupefy

vsto unfix

9 7.9

To make someone unable to think or react after a very strong shock

is about disturbing composure and stability rather than causing mental numbness

to disconcert

vsto unfix

7 7.1

To make someone feel uncomfortable or embarrassed

is about losing internal stability and composure rather than situational embarrassment

to unsettle

vsto unfix

7 4.9

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

focuses on causing loss of stability or composure rather than only anxiety

to perturb

vsto unfix

7 7.0

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

is about causing loss of stability and composure rather than mild unease

to throw off balance

vsto unfix

4 5.4

To make someone feel confused or unsure after a sudden change

is about deeper loss of mental stability, not only reaction to sudden events

to discompose

vsto unfix

1 9.1

To make someone feel nervous

means loss of mental stability or composure beyond brief unease

to disquiet

vsto unfix

1 7.3

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

focuses on causing loss of composure and stability rather than just worry

to unhinge

vsto unfix

1 7.9

To make someone very upset or unable to think clearly

is milder, describing loss of composure and stability rather than total breakdown

to unbalance

vsto unfix

1 7.0

To make a person mentally unstable or unable to think clearly

is milder, focusing on losing composure and stability rather than insanity

to discomfit

vsto unfix

Formal

1 8.4

To make someone feel uncomfortable, confused, or embarrassed

is more about broader mental destabilization than mere social embarrassment

to unman

vsto unfix

1 8.8

To make someone lose courage or confidence

is about broader mental instability and composure loss rather than only confidence

to unglue

vsto unfix

Informal

7.5

To make someone lose control of their feelings

emphasizes loss of overall mental stability as well as composure

to untune

vsto unfix

Archaic

8.9

To make someone lose their calm and feel upset

refers more to general mental disturbance rather than only emotional instability

to unstill

vsto unfix

9.9

Make people and places feel restless or worried

focuses on causing lasting loss of composure and mental stability not only restlessness

to overwind

vsto unfix

7.9

To make someone feel very nervous and upset

is broader, meaning loss of composure and balance rather than only high tension

Antonyms

to calm

962 1.0

Make a person or animal less upset

to stabilize

75 4.3

To become steady and stop changing

How Unsettled

to unhinge

1 7.9

to unfix

9.1

to unsettle

7 4.9

to disturb

183 2.1

to bother

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

unfix infinitive

unfixed past

unfixed past participle

unfixing present participle

unfixes third person singular

Morphology

unfix = fix (semi-transparent) = un + fix

The physical sense of 'fix' (make stable) transfers metaphorically to mental stability; learners may not immediately infer the psychological meaning from the physical base.

Etymology

Unfix here comes from un- ('not' or 'reverse') and fix ('to be steady' or 'firm'), so to unfix someone is to make them lose their steadiness or feel shaken, like being knocked off balance by bad news.