disturbing

[ dih-stur-bing ]
See synonyms for disturbing on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. upsetting or disquieting; dismaying: a disturbing increase in the crime rate.

Origin of disturbing

1
First recorded in 1585–95; disturb + -ing2

Other words from disturbing

  • dis·turb·ing·ly, adverb
  • non·dis·turb·ing, adjective
  • un·dis·turb·ing, adjective
  • un·dis·turb·ing·ly, adverb

Words Nearby disturbing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use disturbing in a sentence

  • Suddenly he shot a disturbing glance at Tressan's face, and the corner of his wild-cat mustachios twitched.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • They clattered through the outlying bazaar without disturbing a soul.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • It becomes impossible to use the combination pedals without disturbing the stops and couplers of the Pedal department.

  • What might be of a disturbing nature in the old farmhouse could not, she thought, be as fearsome as the approaching tempest.

  • To overcome these three disturbing factors a very ingenious form of balance has been devised.

British Dictionary definitions for disturbing

disturbing

/ (dɪˈstɜːbɪŋ) /


adjective
  1. tending to upset or agitate; troubling; worrying

Derived forms of disturbing

  • disturbingly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012