unrest

English

Etymology

From Middle English unreste, equivalent to un- +‎ rest. Cognate with West Frisian ûnrêst (“unrest”), Dutch onrust (“unrest”), German Low German Unrüst (“unrest”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Uunraue (“unrest”), German Unruhe (“unrest”), Danish uro (“unrest”), Swedish oro (“unrest”), Icelandic órói (“unrest”). Compare also Old English orrest (“battle”), Old Norse orrosta, orresta (“battle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈɹɛst/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛst

Noun

unrest (usually uncountable, plural unrests)

1. A state of trouble, confusion and turbulence, especially in a political context; a time of riots, demonstrations and protests.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 26:

     What words are these have fall’n from me?
     ⁠Can calm despair and wild unrest
     ⁠Be tenants of a single breast,
     Or sorrow such a changeling be?

   • 2019 September 4, James Griffith, “Hong Kong government’s attempt to outflank protesters is doomed to fail”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     Few expect the unrest to stop anytime soon. The government may hope to outflank the protest movement by painting them as unwilling to accept compromise, but even some of Lam’s allies have publicly said that the withdrawal was too little, too late.

2. Something that troubles or confuses; that which causes unrest.
   • 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 8:

     In her pyjamas, Sadie turned back the bedclothes to a single sheet, and settled down under it with a sigh of content; the languors of a body untroubled by mental unrests were a reward for the day's exertions.

Derived terms

• civil unrest

Translations

state of trouble — see also upheaval,‎ agitation

• Afrikaans: onrus
• Albanian: shqetësi f
• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: խռովություն (hy) (xṙovutʻyun), հուզում (hy) (huzum)
• Azerbaijani: təlatüm (az), narahatlıq (az)
• Belarusian: беспарадкі m pl (bjesparadki), хваляванні n pl (xvaljavanni)
• Bulgarian: неспокойствие (bg) (nespokojstvie), притеснение (bg) n (pritesnenie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 動亂 / 动乱 (zh) (dòngluàn), 動蕩 / 动荡 (zh) (dòngdàng) or 動盪 / 动荡 (zh) (dòngdàng)

• Cornish: ankres m
• Crimean Tatar: please add this translation if you can
• Danish: uro c
• Dutch: onrust (nl) c
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: levottomuus (fi)
• French: agitation (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Unruhen (de) f pl
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἀκαταστασία f (akatastasía)

• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Japanese: 動乱 (ja) (どうらん, dōran), 動揺 (ja) (どうよう, dōyō)
• Latgalian: jukums
• Latvian: jukas
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: uro (no) c
• Persian: بلوا (fa) (balvâ)
• Polish: zamieszki (pl) pl
• Portuguese: inquietação (pt) f
• Romanian: tulburare (ro) f, dezordine (ro) f
• Russian: беспоря́дки (ru) m pl (besporjádki), волне́ния (ru) n pl (volnénija)
• Scottish Gaelic: mì-shuaimhneas m
• Slovak: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: inquietud (es) f, descontento (es) m, descontentamiento m (uncommon)
• Swedish: oro (sv) c
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: неспо́кій m (nespókij), завору́шення n (zavorúšennja)

Anagrams

• tuners