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
May the 4th Be With You: Star Wars Words
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Mockingbird
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Liar & Spy
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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.
So the only reasonable charge was violating the city ordinance against disturbing “the peace of others by violent, offensive or boisterous conduct or language,” but that was tacked on later, in February.
From Slate • May 4, 2026
Kapelovitz focuses on felony defense, though he handles “everything from disturbing the peace to murder” for a client base that is 90% indigent.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
“We were both relieved we finished the story, but that’s within this really difficult, complicated, disturbing context,” Sheen said in an interview last year.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the case was deeply disturbing and a serious breach of trust.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
Robert McNamara, secretary of defense during the crisis, came to what I consider to be a far more disturbing conclusion.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
