disruptive
Americanadjective
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causing, tending to cause, or caused by disruption; disrupting.
the disruptive effect of their rioting.
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Business.
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relating to or noting a new product, service, or idea that radically changes an industry or business strategy, especially by creating a new market and disrupting an existing one.
disruptive innovations such as the cell phone and the two-year community college.
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relating to or noting a business executive or company that introduces or is receptive to such innovation.
disruptive CEOs with imagination and vision.
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adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disruptive
Explanation
Anything disruptive is loud, chaotic, and disorderly. Disruptive things disturb people and upset the applecart. Have you ever heard a teacher tell a loud student "Stop being disruptive"? Things that are disruptive tend to disturb others. Kids whispering in class can be disruptive. A screaming baby on a plane can be disruptive. If you're trying to play baseball and it starts raining, that's disruptive as well. When you're trying to do something and a surprising event screws everything up, it can probably be described with the word disruptive.
Vocabulary lists containing disruptive
Make a Break for It: Rupt
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"Tinker v. Des Moines": Excerpts from Justice Fortas's Opinion
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Nothing But the Truth
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Elon Musk’s plan to manufacture gas turbine blades is just the latest example of SpaceX’s disruptive approach to business.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
However, these walkbacks have tended to be easy to make, because they’ve been in response to A.I. being less disruptive than they first projected.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
She cut her teeth first in politics then working for the likes of Google, which early on ran sophisticated public-relations operations to build support for its disruptive business model.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
The most disruptive part of the retrofit work was carried out first, and included the insulation of shared walls, flooring and the roof.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“This is more disruptive than you could know, Mr. Donnelly. If you want to run a picture of our team, you should show Victor. He’s our captain.”
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
