disturbing

[dih-stur-bing]

adjective

1. upsetting or disquieting; dismaying.

   a disturbing increase in the crime rate.

Other Word Forms

• disturbingly adverb
• nondisturbing adjective
• undisturbing adjective
• undisturbingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of disturbing¹

First recorded in 1585–95; disturb + -ing ²

Example Sentences

These predictions—and still more disturbing ones—both confuse and enrage Oedipus, and lead him to accuse Creon of unseemly ambition and betrayal.

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Back at South Park Elementary, as the battle of disturbing AI-generated videos heats up, Kyle questions how creating that kind of content, especially with copyrighted characters, is legal.

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“Referring to my GF as a ‘p—’ is so disgusting and disturbing,” Thompson wrote.

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“Lot of disturbing things happening in the world,” wrote another, “but at least serif fonts are making a comeback.”

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In the process, they picked up more disturbing tidbits.

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Related Words

• alarming 
• annoying 
• bothersome 
• creepy 
• depressing 
• disconcerting 
• discouraging www.thesaurus.com
• distressing www.thesaurus.com
• embarrassing www.thesaurus.com
• frightening www.thesaurus.com
• irritating 
• ominous 
• painful 
• perplexing 
• sinister 
• startling 
• threatening 
• troublesome 
• troubling www.thesaurus.com
• unpleasant