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Glite Dictionary
🪧 Public disorder 😟 Worry or agitation
unrest

unrest

5 4.4
A feeling of worry that makes someone restless
  • noun
  • /ʌnˈrɛst/
translation icon : inquietud
  • Workers expressed their unrest through protests demanding better wages and working conditions.
  • labor unrest
  • social unrest
  • constant unrest

As happy and as excited as we are, it's like a feeling of general unrest.

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Examples

  • The community experienced significant unrest after the proposed changes to the local school system.

  • I stared out the wide window at the barren ocean ahead of us: a gray wasteland of eternal unrest...

    Fiction book (1995)

  • All this student unrest began with the state of research in France after World War II.

    Academic text (1990)

  • This strategy might help prevent unrest in the short short term, but it's not sustainable in the long term.

  • We live in a time of unrest.

    The Best Two Years (2004)

  • Worker unrest is just beginning, and eastern Germany is the leader in this problem.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Thus, this population's added need to protect their children from infection can further add to their emotional unrest.

    Academic text (2018)

  • The general prosperity also went a long way to put a damper on social unrest.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The government of Nepal also cannot overlook the unrest that exists both within and without its borders.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Political unrest after 1976 and growing government deficits after 1983 further drained output.

    Academic text (1996)

Synonyms

turmoil
vsunrest
138 4.8

A time of great confusion and disorder

is milder and often linked to worry rather than extreme chaos
disorder
vsunrest
  • Literature
50 4.1

A time of public unrest that breaks normal order

is more about internal agitation from worry or dissatisfaction rather than public breakdown
discontent
vsunrest
49 5.1

A feeling of not being satisfied with the present situation

is an agitated state that often arises from that dissatisfaction
restlessness
vsunrest
12 3.8

Unable to sit still and relax because of worry, boredom or impatience

is driven more by worry or dissatisfaction than simple boredom
agitation
vsunrest
  • Literature
9 4.6

Public protest and unrest that asks for change in society

is more about inner worry and dissatisfaction causing troubled feelings
disaffection
vsunrest
  • Formal
4 7.8

A feeling of not being loyal or supportive toward people in power

is a general state of agitation not limited to loyalty or authority issues
discontentment
vsunrest
1 6.2

A feeling of unhappiness about a situation and wanting something better

is a more active, agitated state resulting from that unhappy feeling
unquietness
vsunrest
1 7.4

A state where people are not calm and feel worried or angry

is caused by worry or dissatisfaction rather than general disturbance
discontentedness
vsunrest
7.4

A feeling of being unhappy with a situation and wanting change

is an agitated state that commonly follows this uneasy dissatisfaction

Antonyms

calm
52 1.0

A quiet, peaceful feeling that helps you stay steady

contentment
26 2.1

A feeling of being happy and satisfied with your life

How Restless

turmoil
138 4.8
unrest
5 4.4
unease
19 4.4
calm
735 1.0

Surface Forms

unrest singular
unrests plural

Morphology

unrest = rest (semi-transparent) = un + rest

The prefix 'un-' negates 'rest', but the specific meaning of societal or political disturbance is not directly inferable.

Etymology

Unrest comes from the prefix un- meaning 'not' and the root rest meaning 'calm' or 'stop'. So, unrest is 'not calm', a kind of worry or inner agitation that can keep someone awake.