unrest

noun

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”).

1. A state of trouble, confusion and turbulence, especially in a political context; a time of riots, demonstrations and protests.

   “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?”

   “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.

   “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.”