disturb
verb (used with object)
to interrupt the quiet, rest, peace, or order of; unsettle.
had been disturbing
-
past perfect progressiveof disturb.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Chaney said he would continue to use his platform to advocate for people with disabilities even though the response to the video had been disturbing and draining.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025
I was told of a series of overnight thefts of fish that had been disturbing the staff.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 3, 2021
We were in the middle of an internal gender equality audit, and the findings had been disturbing.
From Slate ● Aug. 9, 2018
Mrs Morgan said there had been "disturbing" evidence that people with a "shared ideology" were trying to gain control of governing bodies in Birmingham.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2014
It was in this half-solemn and half-tragic conclave that the pater-familias was at last put in possession of the mysterious occurrences that had been disturbing the peace of his domestic hearth.
From The Humbugs of the World An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, in All Ages by P. T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum
