perturb
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
-
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.
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
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.
