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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Be More Chill
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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:
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
Using this epigenomic editing technology, the researchers can "perturb" candidate regions to see whether any tested genomic regions can impact downstream gene expression.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 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
Because it's so vast, and so poorly understood, Prof Schmidt added, "the worry is that we'll start destroying those ecosystems - and perturb all these vital processes - that we really don't understand".
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2021
The storm, and the resulting minor earthquakes, did not perturb the meerkats in the least.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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
Alade Adeleke: It perturbs the coastal ecosystem, the water system changes, the fisheries is affected.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 17, 2021
In his theory, the extra snow is creating a dense, cold air mass over northern Asia in the late autumn, setting off a complex chain of cause and effect that ultimately perturbs the vortex.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2011
Our moon perturbs at first sight nothing, and accordingly its mass is not even yet known with exactness.
From Pioneers of Science by Lodge, Oliver, Sir
"I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know."
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 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
His adversaries think he’ll crumple like yesterday’s broadsheet when they turn him away, and are perturbed to realize he’s more like the human equivalent of tissue hanging onto the heel of a shoe.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2025
Ampleforth marched clumsily out between the guards, his face vaguely perturbed, but uncomprehending.
From "1984" by George Orwell
I was especially struck by an extremely perturbing exchange between the two, about what appears to be Summers’ embattled pursuit of a woman.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2025
“It’s perturbing and upsetting,” said Mark Bookbinder, a 68-year-old engineer who lives in Cincinnati.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
And though it’s also perturbing, it’s nice to watch something where even the darkness isn’t synthetic.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2025
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
Like the photograph of the spider-dancer, Mrs. Richardson found this perturbing but strangely compelling.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
