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.
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to interfere with the arrangement, order, or harmony of; disarrange.
to disturb the papers on her desk.
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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
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to inconvenience; put out
don't disturb yourself on my account
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disturbsimple
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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
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The Circuit
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"The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Raven"
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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.
See Examples For:
Its observations reveal how an earlier encounter with another galaxy can disturb gas and stimulate star formation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
Lincoln is concerned that the Great Redwood Trail will disturb historic tribal sites in the Eel River Canyon and advocates for an alternative route that would diverge from the railroad line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
The quark can disturb the plasma and produce a wake, while the Z boson should pass through without significantly affecting the material around it.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Cefas Endeavour was a technically challenging ship, with exacting specifications for noise and vibration so that it would not disturb fish during survey work.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
“Because we don’t want to disturb the neighbors,” Dad says.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
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
When ions move through a crystal lattice in a fluid-like way, their motion temporarily disturbs the lattice symmetry.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
"It's polite to let them know and apologise in advance if it disturbs them. We'll normally turn the music down by 11 or midnight - or sometimes just invite them to join us."
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025
“That disturbs me highly and is really kind of hard to talk about,” he said, getting choked up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025
His teachers say he’s very intelligent but maladjusted, that he cries every night and disturbs the other boys’ sleep.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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
At a news conference on Friday, Hochul said she was "deeply disturbed" by how the investigation was handled.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
You can view here animations of longitudinal and transverse waves, single particles being disturbed by a transverse wave or by a longitudinal wave, and particles being disturbed by transverse and longitudinal waves.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the incident as a "shocking and deeply disturbing attack".
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Scientists can therefore observe living cells for longer periods while minimizing the risk of disturbing or damaging them.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
Brian had written down the recipe, and, in his back shed, Michael, with the eventual assistance of Kasey, sets about following it into strange and disturbing territory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Pastushenko says she finds Ukrainians’ ability to carry on both remarkable and disturbing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
But he vaults from the couch to block my path, disturbing the cushions and sending throw pillows to the floor.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
