disturb
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disturbs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disturbed,
past participle, past
-
disturbing
present participle
-
to interrupt the quiet, rest, peace, or order of; unsettle.
-
to interfere with; interrupt; hinder.
Please do not disturb me when I'm working.
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to interfere with the arrangement, order, or harmony of; disarrange.
to disturb the papers on her desk.
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to perplex; trouble.
to be disturbed by strange behavior.
verb (used without object)
-
disturbs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disturbed,
past participle, past
-
disturbing
present participle
verb
-
to intrude on; interrupt
-
to destroy or interrupt the quietness or peace of
-
to disarrange; muddle
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(often passive) to upset or agitate; trouble
I am disturbed at your bad news
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to inconvenience; put out
don't disturb yourself on my account
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disturbsimple
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disturbssimple
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have disturbedperfect
-
has disturbedperfect
-
am disturbingprogressive
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are disturbingprogressive
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is disturbingprogressive
-
have been disturbingperfect progressive
-
has been disturbingperfect progressive
Past
-
disturbedsimple
-
had disturbedperfect
-
was disturbingprogressive
-
were disturbingprogressive
-
had been disturbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disturb
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English distorben, distourben, disturben, from Anglo-French desturber, disto(u)rber, from Latin disturbāre “to demolish, upset,” from dis- dis- 1 + turbāre “to agitate, confuse” ( see turbid)
Explanation
To disturb is to bother. If you hang a "Do not disturb" sign on the outside of your hotel room door, you want to be left alone. Disturb comes from the Latin prefix dis-, meaning "completely" and turbare, meaning "to disorder." To disturb is, in a sense, to completely disorder. When you disturb something, you interfere with its normal function. Along those lines, it's also a word used to describe the interruption of sleep or relaxation. Your alarm disturbs you from sleep every morning. When something disturbs you, it can also cause you emotional anxiety. A horror movie might disturb you with its goriness.
Vocabulary lists containing disturb
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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The Circuit
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"The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Raven"
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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.
See Examples For:
In a one line order, Kagan, who is assigned to review emergency requests originating from California, declined to disturb that ruling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Earning a first DP World Tour win in 14 years - and effectively saving his job by doing so - would be enough to disturb the composure of most golfers.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Despite the cold, there’s no radiation to worry about and only gentle 10 mph winds to disturb those dunes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
"Whenever we disturb the ground, when we cut down a tree and expose the soil, the fire can reignite," said fire chief Covens.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The overseer listened respectfully and then began telling us to go, not to disturb the men, although for so long he had been glad of many watchers.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
When ions move through a crystal lattice in a fluid-like way, their motion temporarily disturbs the lattice symmetry.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
Old Hunter, an ex-police detective now working in private security, disturbs Chen’s depressive apathy with a request that he help find a man called X, a former philosophy professor who ran afoul of authorities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
It disturbs the clean flow of air teams want through the diffuser, the upswept part of the floor at the back of the car.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2025
Just like moving fingers under the running water from a tap can disrupt its steady flow, HIP 67522 b disturbs the star’s magnetic field as it orbits around its host star.
From Space Scoop ● Jul. 17, 2025
The charm of adventure sweetens that sensation, the glow of pride warms it; but then the throb of fear disturbs it; and fear with me became predominant when half-an-hour elapsed and still I was alone.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
This has disturbed some officials in the administration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Researchers have spent years investigating connections between disturbed sleep and neurodegenerative diseases.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
But analysts weren’t as disturbed by the results, remaining bullish enough on the stock that it made the screen.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Like Walkden, medication made McCoubrey feel drowsy, nauseous and caused disturbed sleep.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Only once were we disturbed by blasting near us.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
The same principle applies to some of the more disturbing scenarios.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
"What we are seeing now is deeply disturbing," one protestor told AFP.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
The show can be genuinely disturbing and genuinely funny.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
The prize ceremony on Saturday wrapped up 10 days of often dark, disturbing programming that chief organiser Alberto Barbera had promised would echo the war-torn and anxiety-filled state of the world.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
When Regina refused to move, she was arrested by an officer of the Chicago Police Department for disturbing the peace, and she, Bobby, and Joan were forced to move out.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
