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.
-
to interfere with the arrangement, order, or harmony of; disarrange.
to disturb the papers on her desk.
-
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
-
(often passive) to upset or agitate; trouble
I am disturbed at your bad news
-
to inconvenience; put out
don't disturb yourself on my account
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disturbsimple
-
disturbssimple
-
have disturbedperfect
-
has disturbedperfect
-
am disturbingprogressive
-
are disturbingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Circuit
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Raven"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
He said he “braced for impact,” but the fish didn’t disturb the small craft.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Powerful solar events can disturb Earth's magnetic field, potentially generating unwanted electrical currents in infrastructure and affecting systems that depend on reliable satellite signals.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
It is an offence to kill, injure, take or disturb a bat, or to destroy, damage, obstruct or otherwise interfere with a bat roost, breeding site or resting place.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
To bat the angst away, she’ll often launch into work, writing emails and saving them as drafts so she doesn’t disturb her colleagues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Any customers who recognized the handsomest, best-dressed man in Washington kept it to themselves and did not disturb him.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Researchers suspect this could contribute to a self-reinforcing cycle in which Alzheimer's pathology disturbs sleep, and inadequate sleep may further aggravate the disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
“Like the anger disturbs my body so much that it makes me cry. No matter how much I tried to unplug from Carol, my body didn’t understand that I was pretending.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
But witnessing the book’s reception, it disturbs me how quickly we, as readers, have accepted one side of a complicated relationship: The husband is a monster, she is our sister.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
"Nature has already designed the perfect pollination system. When humans interfere too much, it often disturbs that balance," he says.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
Anything that disturbs mitosis is therefore a grave threat to the welfare of the organism affected and to its descendants.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
As Michael Cox wrote in 1983, “nothing fragmented the completeness, nothing disturbed the balance of Monty James’s personality.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Rania Batrice, a Palestinian American political strategist who was a deputy campaign manager for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, was disturbed.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
He added that the protesters -- many of whom were minors -- were "disturbed by the level of repression never before seen for a student movement".
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
“The City of Lynwood is deeply saddened and disturbed by the reported animal cruelty incident that has caused significant concern throughout our community,” the city said in a statement released Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
A chair was turned over, the bed blankets disturbed, but other than the fright they’d given my sister, everything seemed in order.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
The festival’s final edition in Park City came to a close with two awards wins by Beth de Araújo’s disturbing drama starring Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan and Mason Reeves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
And if you zoom out just a little bit, you see this same disturbing inequality through a much bigger lens—and people are finally getting mad about it.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
The lessons may appear to be the same, but the individuals often tell disturbing tales that only the gods could see coming.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Meghan confirmed on Friday she had previously been informed about "disturbing allegations" about her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
These are deeply disturbing flaws that don’t show up on the marble statues that honor these men.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
