disturb
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disturbs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disturbed,
past participle, past
-
disturbing
present participle
-
to interrupt the quiet, rest, peace, or order of; unsettle.
-
to interfere with; interrupt; hinder.
Please do not disturb me when I'm working.
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to interfere with the arrangement, order, or harmony of; disarrange.
to disturb the papers on her desk.
-
to perplex; trouble.
to be disturbed by strange behavior.
verb (used without object)
-
disturbs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disturbed,
past participle, past
-
disturbing
present participle
verb
-
to intrude on; interrupt
-
to destroy or interrupt the quietness or peace of
-
to disarrange; muddle
-
(often passive) to upset or agitate; trouble
I am disturbed at your bad news
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to inconvenience; put out
don't disturb yourself on my account
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disturbsimple
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disturbssimple
-
have disturbedperfect
-
has disturbedperfect
-
am disturbingprogressive
-
are disturbingprogressive
-
is disturbingprogressive
-
have been disturbingperfect progressive
-
has been disturbingperfect progressive
Past
-
disturbedsimple
-
had disturbedperfect
-
was disturbingprogressive
-
were disturbingprogressive
-
had been disturbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disturb
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English distorben, distourben, disturben, from Anglo-French desturber, disto(u)rber, from Latin disturbāre “to demolish, upset,” from dis- dis- 1 + turbāre “to agitate, confuse” ( see turbid)
Explanation
To disturb is to bother. If you hang a "Do not disturb" sign on the outside of your hotel room door, you want to be left alone. Disturb comes from the Latin prefix dis-, meaning "completely" and turbare, meaning "to disorder." To disturb is, in a sense, to completely disorder. When you disturb something, you interfere with its normal function. Along those lines, it's also a word used to describe the interruption of sleep or relaxation. Your alarm disturbs you from sleep every morning. When something disturbs you, it can also cause you emotional anxiety. A horror movie might disturb you with its goriness.
Vocabulary lists containing disturb
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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The Circuit
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"The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Raven"
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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:
After carefully removing his shirt so as not to disturb the makeup, Laveaux gets into costume.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Lincoln is concerned that the Great Redwood Trail will disturb historic tribal sites in the Eel River Canyon and advocates for an alternative route that would diverge from the railroad line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
It is an offence to kill, injure, take or disturb a bat, or to destroy, damage, obstruct or otherwise interfere with a bat roost, breeding site or resting place.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
The strong updrafts inside these clouds can disturb the surrounding atmosphere, generating waves that travel upward into the stratosphere and mesosphere.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Good day, he says as if he doesn't want to disturb anyone, as if he is about to apologize for interrupting the school day.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
This fading memory disturbs Dervis Hizarci, a former teacher and the head of KIGA, a Berlin organization against antisemitism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
"Nature has already designed the perfect pollination system. When humans interfere too much, it often disturbs that balance," he says.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
Any attempt to intercept the quantum signals disturbs them, creating detectable errors that alert users to possible eavesdropping.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 17, 2026
“That disturbs me highly and is really kind of hard to talk about,” he said, getting choked up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025
"See that no one disturbs his rest without leave from me."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
The disturbed weather pattern will continue into the half term week as another deep area of low pressure will bring more strong winds later on Monday and through to Tuesday.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Rania Batrice, a Palestinian American political strategist who was a deputy campaign manager for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, was disturbed.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
He added that the protesters -- many of whom were minors -- were "disturbed by the level of repression never before seen for a student movement".
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
He was disturbed by images of fans being hit with rubber bullets and equipment being stolen, but also realized the band’s trajectory had suddenly changed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
All John Reed’s violent tyrannies, all his sisters’ proud indifference, all his mother’s aversion, all the servants’ partiality, turned up in my disturbed mind like a dark deposit in a turbid well.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
The handwritten letter was then passed to Meghan in January 2019, with the duchess saying last week that it had "made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father".
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The lessons may appear to be the same, but the individuals often tell disturbing tales that only the gods could see coming.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
By 2019, Meghan had received disturbing allegations about Thomas Markle, in a letter from her father's first wife, Roslyn Loveless.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
A wheel can spin continuously around a fixed axle, allowing it to rotate without disturbing whatever it supports.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
It was kind of disturbing, us just sitting there next to each other, like nothing ever happened between me and him just a while ago.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
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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.
