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unnervingly

UK/ˈʌnˈnɜːvɪŋlɪ/US/ˈʌnˈnɜːvɪŋlɪ/
adverbC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechToo rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Unnervingly means in a way that quietly takes away your confidence. Unnervingly calm.

It describes an effect on the observer rather than any intention. Something unnervingly accurate is more disturbing than something merely strange.

Definitions of unnervingly

  1. 1adverbunnervinglyIn a way that quietly takes away your confidence.C2

    “The house was unnervingly quiet for a Saturday.”

unnervingly is a manner.

Where it comes from

From unnerving + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

unnervingly in the wild

  • Neville's portrayal of the Well-Manicured Man has been positively received by critics, who have noted his "moral ambivalence" and "unnervingly genteel" manner.

    Well-Manicured Man

  • Lucky is characterised as a "warm, empathetic and unnervingly intelligent" nurse.

    Lucky Simpson

  • The Australian Broadcasting Corporation described the stories as an "unflinching" take on daily life, creating an "unnervingly vivid" result.

    Travelling Light (short story collection)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.