perturb

American  

[per-turb] / pərˈtɜrb /

verb (used with object)

1. to disturb or disquiet greatly in mind; agitate.

   I can see how such a massive change in your routine would perturb you.

   Synonyms:

   worry, trouble

   Antonyms:

   pacify

2. to throw into great disorder.

   Huge construction projects can take years to finish, and meanwhile, can greatly perturb the neighborhood.

   Synonyms:

   muddle, disarrange, confuse

3. Astronomy. to cause perturbation in the orbit of (a celestial body).

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perturb British  

/ pəˈtɜːb /

verb

1. to disturb the composure of; trouble

2. to throw into disorder

3. physics astronomy to cause (a planet, electron, etc) to undergo a perturbation

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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 )

Explanation

To perturb is to bug or bother someone by confusing them or throwing them off balance. You can try, but it's almost impossible to perturb the guards outside Buckingham Palace. If you're having trouble getting used to the word perturb, you're in luck! It's similar in meaning to the verb "disturb." That's right, to perturb is to disturb, but in a way that suggests you're throwing it off its usual path or routine. The movie Born Free truly perturbed widespread views about animals—people suddenly started seeing them as individuals. If you stare at a person you don't know, it won't be long before you perturb them.

Example Sentences

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.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

"This observation is different from previous models where boundaries were assumed to perturb the order," he continues.

From Science Daily • Sep. 29, 2023

“We can perturb, we can manipulate, we can knock out every possible mouse or human gene,” Fu says.

From Scientific American • Aug. 26, 2022

"There was no physical violence or rise in thefts, but they perturb people who are from here," he says, adding: "From now on it's zero tolerance."

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2022

The storm, and the resulting minor earth­quakes, did not perturb the meerkats in the least.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Related Words

• agitate
• alarm
• annoy
• bewilder
• confound
• confuse
• disconcert
• dismay
• disturb
• fluster
• irritate
• muddle
• perplex
• vex