perturb
Americanverb (used with object)
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perturbs,
present (3rd person singular)
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perturbed,
past participle, past
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perturbing
present participle
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to disturb or disquiet greatly in mind; agitate.
I can see how such a massive change in your routine would perturb you.
- Antonyms:
- pacify
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to throw into great disorder.
Huge construction projects can take years to finish, and meanwhile, can greatly perturb the neighborhood.
- Synonyms:
- muddle, disarrange, confuse
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Astronomy. to cause perturbation in the orbit of (a celestial body).
verb
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to disturb the composure of; trouble
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to throw into disorder
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physics astronomy to cause (a planet, electron, etc) to undergo a perturbation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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perturbabilitynoun
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perturbatornoun
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perturbernoun
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perturbmentnoun
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nonperturbableadjective
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nonperturbingadjective
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perturbableadjective
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perturbatiousadjective
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perturbingadjective
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unperturbableadjective
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unperturbingadjective
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perturbablyadverb
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perturbinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perturbsimple
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perturbssimple
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have perturbedperfect
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has perturbedperfect
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am perturbingprogressive
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are perturbingprogressive
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is perturbingprogressive
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have been perturbingperfect progressive
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has been perturbingperfect progressive
Past
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perturbedsimple
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had perturbedperfect
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was perturbingprogressive
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were perturbingprogressive
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had been perturbingperfect progressive
Future
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” ( see 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.
Vocabulary lists containing perturb
Grade 9, List 5
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The God of Small Things
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List 3
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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:
"This technology lets us perturb hundreds to thousands of genes in parallel and then measure the detailed molecular changes in each individual cell," says Cao.
From Science Daily ● May 21, 2026
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
A deficiency can perturb the proper formation of those circuits, Eyles and his colleagues have found.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 13, 2023
"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 news didn’t perturb him as much as excite his curiosity.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
The main problem with room temperature is thermal noise, which perturbs delicate quantum dynamics.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 14, 2024
Perhaps this marks the beginning of a pop culture reconsideration of America’s role in the war, adding nuance that perturbs the accepted heroic narrative.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
He’s become an itinerant street performer who rivets and perturbs spectators with his uncanny ability to reproduce the physical appearance of anyone in his audience.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 27, 2022
There are indeed magnetic anomaly stripes that go through Iceland, although the activity of the island's volcanoes perturbs those stripes, so they are hard to follow.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 20, 2020
When he comes towards you with his blond whiskers, his blue eyes, his red sash, his white waistcoat and his melancholy air he perturbs you.
From The Memoirs of Victor Hugo by Victor Hugo
"I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know."
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Loznitsa includes multiple terse scenes of Kornev walking up endless stairs or waiting for a perturbed guard to unlock a door that will lead him to another door that also requires a key.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
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.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
More curiously, even though U.S. high-yield spreads are at post-1998 lows, few investors seemed to be unduly perturbed here.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 18, 2025
It soon became clear, however, that these local people were perturbed by my presence, feeling something of a need to show hospitality.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
The last is especially perturbing to the family dog, Starbuck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
We now show that perturbing the water layer around the protein, even very slightly, has dramatic effects on collagen assembly.'
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2024
"It is clearly in humanity's interest to avoid perturbing Earth system to a degree that risks changing global environmental conditions so markedly," the authors wrote.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2023
This is because the smoke has disrupted this dynamic growth pattern, as opposed to just perturbing a more stable system like an adult.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2023
Like the photograph of the spider-dancer, Mrs. Richardson found this perturbing but strangely compelling.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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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.
