- present participle of disturb.
disturbing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disturbing
Explanation
When something really worries or upsets you, you can describe it as disturbing. War photography is usually disturbing. It can be disturbing to see people be hurt, or a child going hungry: it troubles the person who is witnessing such difficulties. Some strange things are also often described as disturbing, such as bizarre clown art or people who walk around dressed in animal costumes. If it bothers and distresses you, it's disturbing. The Latin root, disturbare, combines dis, "completely," with turbare, "to disorder."
Vocabulary lists containing disturbing
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Mockingbird
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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.
Jenée Desmond-Harris and Lizzie O’Leary talk out what to do about a disturbing revelation that upended a letter writer’s understanding of her marriage.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2026
"It offers advantages over conventional experimental techniques by detecting subtle directional magnetic patterns across different regions of a material without significantly disturbing it."
From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026
Responses online to such clips are sharply divided: some say they were brought to tears, while others see the practice as unethical and deeply disturbing.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
“It does amaze me when people go, ‘You are so disturbing.’
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
As sad as she felt about disturbing the last moments of Father Cham's life, she was anxious to get all of this underway.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
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.
