perturbed
Americanadjective
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feeling or showing great concern or mental or emotional upset.
The heaviness of his step and the perturbed expression on his face told us that the captain was not in the best of moods.
-
greatly disordered or deranged.
He keeps using the same nonsensical phrases and the same perturbed logic, with no sense of the context of the discussion.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perturbed
Explanation
Imagine a couple of snakes getting loose in a pet shop, and the manager running around trying to round up the snakes and calm down the customers, and you'll picture a perturbed person. Perturbed means flustered and confused. When you're perturbed, you're upset by something, and rattled enough by it to be thrown off your usual calmness into a state of confusion. In astronomy, perturbation is defined as "the effects on a large body when it is subjected to gravitational effects from more than one other large body." When a planet is perturbed in astronomy, it is pulled in different directions by strong forces, which is a great metaphor for what happens to a person who is perturbed.
Vocabulary lists containing perturbed
A Wrinkle in Time
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Intermediate, List 1
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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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.
Perturbed by the existing name she saw in news reports, the octogenarian Ms. McClain petitioned authorities to rename the 4,200-foot mountain.
From Washington Times • May 10, 2023
Perturbed about Mr. Iger’s trash talk, which made its way back to Disney headquarters, the headstrong Mr. Chapek responded by icing Mr. Iger out — rather than turning to the more experienced executive for advice.
From New York Times • Nov. 21, 2022
Perturbed, the senator kept talking without the speakers on.
From Washington Post • Jan. 21, 2020
Perturbed by Justin Bour’s .584 OPS that ranked last among first basemen with 100 plate appearances, the Angels optioned the veteran to triple-A after Tuesday’s loss in Minneapolis.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2019
Perturbed and uncertain what to do, he tried to catch Doc Madison's eye again, but a movement in the crowd had hidden Madison.
From The Miracle Man by Packard, Frank L. (Frank Lucius)
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.
