perturb
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to disturb or disquiet greatly in mind; agitate.
I can see how such a massive change in your routine would perturb you.
- Antonyms:
- pacify
-
to throw into great disorder.
Huge construction projects can take years to finish, and meanwhile, can greatly perturb the neighborhood.
- Synonyms:
- muddle, disarrange, confuse
-
Astronomy. to cause perturbation in the orbit of (a celestial body).
verb
-
to disturb the composure of; trouble
-
to throw into disorder
-
physics astronomy to cause (a planet, electron, etc) to undergo a perturbation
Other Word Forms
- nonperturbable adjective
- nonperturbing adjective
- perturbability noun
- perturbable adjective
- perturbably adverb
- perturbatious adjective
- perturbator noun
- perturber noun
- perturbing adjective
- perturbingly adverb
- perturbment noun
- unperturbable adjective
- unperturbing adjective
Etymology
Origin of perturb
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English perturben (from Old French perturber ), from Latin perturbāre “to throw into confusion,” from per- per- + turbāre “to agitate, confuse” ( turbid )
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.
“I am somewhat perturbed. Are we not friends? Why did you not simply ask me to join you at the river?”
From Literature
Some possible treatments have looked to block the origin of the itch to relieve the sensation, Gualdani said, “but it seems if we perturb this pathway, we also perturb eventual itch relief.”
So my advice to people during these times is just do your job and show they were wrong and act like you’re unperturbed by it even though you are perturbed by it.
He talked in friendly terms about the western allies that had been most perturbed by his social media posts.
From BBC
That people are so susceptible to what they read, watch and listen to online is perturbing enough as it is.
From Salon
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.
