Faze

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /feɪz/

Definitions

1. To disturb, disconcert, or cause someone to lose composure or confidence
2. To cause an individual to feel unsettled, anxious, or thrown off balance in a situation of stress or pressure
3. To disrupt someone's peace of mind or confidence, leading to hesitation or discomfort in their actions

Etymology: Old English "fēsan" meant to drive away or put to flight, to send something hurrying off, and in Middle English "fēsen" kept that sense of chasing or terrifying someone. The modern verb "faze" is the surviving trace of that old physical urgency, which was later softened into the idea of being unsettled rather than driven off. Its immediate source is the Kentish dialect word "feeze" or "feese," meaning to alarm or discomfit, which passed into wider English use. The word's emotional sense emerged in the nineteenth century, with citations in the Oxford English Dictionary starting in 1830, and it was well established in standard use by 1890. The verb's distant relatives reflect the same old idea of driving or hurrying: Old Norse "fýsa" meant to drive or goad, and Old Saxon "fūsian" meant to strive.

Synonyms: disturb, disconcert, unsettle, perturb, agitate

Antonyms: calm, soothe, comfort, reassure, settle