perturb
Americanverb (used with object)
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perturbs,
present (3rd person singular)
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perturbed,
past participle, past
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perturbing
present participle
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to disturb or disquiet greatly in mind; agitate.
I can see how such a massive change in your routine would perturb you.
- Antonyms:
- pacify
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to throw into great disorder.
Huge construction projects can take years to finish, and meanwhile, can greatly perturb the neighborhood.
- Synonyms:
- muddle, disarrange, confuse
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Astronomy. to cause perturbation in the orbit of (a celestial body).
verb
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to disturb the composure of; trouble
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to throw into disorder
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physics astronomy to cause (a planet, electron, etc) to undergo a perturbation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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perturbabilitynoun
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perturbatornoun
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perturbernoun
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perturbmentnoun
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nonperturbableadjective
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nonperturbingadjective
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perturbableadjective
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perturbatiousadjective
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perturbingadjective
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unperturbableadjective
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unperturbingadjective
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perturbablyadverb
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perturbinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perturbsimple
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perturbssimple
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have perturbedperfect
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has perturbedperfect
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am perturbingprogressive
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are perturbingprogressive
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is perturbingprogressive
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have been perturbingperfect progressive
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has been perturbingperfect progressive
Past
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perturbedsimple
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had perturbedperfect
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was perturbingprogressive
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were perturbingprogressive
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had been perturbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perturb
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English perturben (from Old French perturber ), from Latin perturbāre “to throw into confusion,” from per- per- + turbāre “to agitate, confuse” ( see turbid)
Explanation
To perturb is to bug or bother someone by confusing them or throwing them off balance. You can try, but it's almost impossible to perturb the guards outside Buckingham Palace. If you're having trouble getting used to the word perturb, you're in luck! It's similar in meaning to the verb "disturb." That's right, to perturb is to disturb, but in a way that suggests you're throwing it off its usual path or routine. The movie Born Free truly perturbed widespread views about animals—people suddenly started seeing them as individuals. If you stare at a person you don't know, it won't be long before you perturb them.
Vocabulary lists containing perturb
Grade 9, List 5
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The God of Small Things
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List 3
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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:
"Through this theoretical framework, we found that we can use small physical boundaries up to ten meters to perturb ocean transport barriers that spans kilometers," said Fang.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026
Some possible treatments have looked to block the origin of the itch to relieve the sensation, Gualdani said, “but it seems if we perturb this pathway, we also perturb eventual itch relief.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
“We can perturb, we can manipulate, we can knock out every possible mouse or human gene,” Fu says.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 26, 2022
"There was no physical violence or rise in thefts, but they perturb people who are from here," he says, adding: "From now on it's zero tolerance."
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2022
The storm, and the resulting minor earthquakes, did not perturb the meerkats in the least.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
The main problem with room temperature is thermal noise, which perturbs delicate quantum dynamics.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 14, 2024
Perhaps this marks the beginning of a pop culture reconsideration of America’s role in the war, adding nuance that perturbs the accepted heroic narrative.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
There are indeed magnetic anomaly stripes that go through Iceland, although the activity of the island's volcanoes perturbs those stripes, so they are hard to follow.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 20, 2020
In his theory, the extra snow is creating a dense, cold air mass over northern Asia in the late autumn, setting off a complex chain of cause and effect that ultimately perturbs the vortex.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2011
A ghost story well told in the daytime perturbs a superstitious mind; but to feel queer at its recital in the night one need not necessarily be superstitious at all.
From The Siege of Kimberley by T. Phelan
Not that McIlroy seemed perturbed as the wind gusted beyond 30mph across the 7,440-yard track.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
“I’m a little perturbed, and I’m a little disappointed, because you have someone who is trying to work with industry, who is trying to get facts and data,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
“I can’t even believe it,” a visibly perturbed Putin said on camera.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
More curiously, even though U.S. high-yield spreads are at post-1998 lows, few investors seemed to be unduly perturbed here.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 18, 2025
As the light began to fade, the architects lit the library’s gas jets, which hissed like mildly perturbed cats.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The last is especially perturbing to the family dog, Starbuck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
I was especially struck by an extremely perturbing exchange between the two, about what appears to be Summers’ embattled pursuit of a woman.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2025
Changes in the spin state can be observed by shining a laser through the material to see how many defects are "on" or "off" after perturbing them.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2023
Saturday’s dud fit a perturbing pattern for the Grizzlies: Talk big, then play small.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 23, 2023
Like the photograph of the spider-dancer, Mrs. Richardson found this perturbing but strangely compelling.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
