disruptive

American  

[dis-ruhp-tiv] / dɪsˈrʌp tɪv /

adjective

1. causing, tending to cause, or caused by disruption; disrupting.

   the disruptive effect of their rioting.

2. Business.

   1. 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.

   2. 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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disruptive British  

/ dɪsˈrʌptɪv /

adjective

1. involving, causing, or tending to cause disruption

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Other Word Forms

• disruptively adverb
• disruptiveness noun
• nondisruptive adjective

Etymology

Origin of disruptive

First recorded in 1835–45; disrupt + -ive

Example Sentences

For seniors, change often isn’t just disruptive, it’s frightening.

From MarketWatch

Parts of northern and eastern England face snow and ice warnings for Tuesday, while the Met Office has warned that "disruptive" snow, wind and rain could fall in the south later in the week.

From BBC

By developing a new high-density operating approach for EAST, the team showed that plasma density can be pushed well past long-standing empirical limits without triggering the disruptive instabilities that usually end experiments.

From Science Daily

Things became even more disruptive by the rise of charter schools and private schools taking away top athletes.

From Los Angeles Times

The through line in my career has been adapting nascent, emerging or disruptive technologies for national security.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• disturbing
• rowdy
• troublesome
• unruly
• upsetting