- 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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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.
Mr. Varadarajan’s assessment leaves a disturbing impression of Bob Woodward as a journalist who exploited the confidences of his sources, ultimately sacrificing their trust and reputations on the altar of his own celebrity status.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
Chicago Fed boss Austan Goolsbee told PBS Newshour the reading was "another distressing report, borderline disturbing".
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026
Warning: This story contains details that some may find disturbing.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
By feeding on vegetation and disturbing the ground as they moved, these animals helped keep parts of the landscape open.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2026
“The specifics in your examples are disturbing sometimes.”
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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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.
