disturb

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dis·turb

(dĭ-stûrb′)

tr.v. dis·turbed, dis·turb·ing, dis·turbs

1. To break up or destroy the tranquility, order, or settled state of: "Subterranean fires and deep unrest disturb the whole area" (Rachel Carson).

2. To trouble emotionally or mentally; upset: It disturbed me when you left without saying goodbye.

a. To interfere with; interrupt: noise that disturbed my sleep.

b. To intrude on; inconvenience: Constant calls disturbed her work.

4. Physics To alter or displace a region of (a medium) from its equilibrium state.

[Middle English distourben, from Old French destourber, from Latin disturbāre : Latin dis-, dis- + Latin turbāre, to agitate (from turba, confusion, probably from Greek turbē).]

dis·turb′er n.

dis·turb′ing·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

disturb

(dɪˈstɜːb)

vb (tr)

1. to intrude on; interrupt

2. to destroy or interrupt the quietness or peace of

3. to disarrange; muddle

4. (often passive) to upset or agitate; trouble: I am disturbed at your bad news.

5. to inconvenience; put out: don't disturb yourself on my account.

[C13: from Latin disturbāre, from dis-¹ + turbāre to confuse]

disˈturber n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dis•turb

(dɪˈstɜrb)

v.t.

1. to interrupt the quiet, rest, or peace of; bother; unsettle.

2. to interfere with; interrupt; hinder.

3. to interfere with the arrangement or order of: to disturb the papers on a desk.

4. to perplex; trouble.

v.i.

5. to cause disturbance to someone's sleep, rest, etc.

[1175–1225; Middle English disto(u)rben < Anglo-French disto(u)rber < Latin disturbāre to demolish, upset]

dis•turb′er, n.

disturb

– disturbed

1. 'disturb'

If you disturb someone, you interrupt what they are doing and cause them inconvenience.

If she's asleep, don't disturb her.

Sorry to disturb you, but can I use your telephone?

2. 'disturbed'

The adjective disturbed has a different meaning. A disturbed person is very upset emotionally and often needs special care or treatment. When disturbed has this meaning, it comes in front of a noun.

They help emotionally disturbed youngsters.

If someone is disturbed, they are very worried. When disturbed has this meaning, it comes after a linking verb.

He was disturbed by the news of the attack.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

disturb

Past participle: disturbed
Gerund: disturbing

Imperative
disturb
disturb

Present
I disturb
you disturb
he/she/it disturbs
we disturb
you disturb
they disturb

Preterite
I disturbed
you disturbed
he/she/it disturbed
we disturbed
you disturbed
they disturbed

Present Continuous
I am disturbing
you are disturbing
he/she/it is disturbing
we are disturbing
you are disturbing
they are disturbing

Present Perfect
I have disturbed
you have disturbed
he/she/it has disturbed
we have disturbed
you have disturbed
they have disturbed

Past Continuous
I was disturbing
you were disturbing
he/she/it was disturbing
we were disturbing
you were disturbing
they were disturbing

Past Perfect
I had disturbed
you had disturbed
he/she/it had disturbed
we had disturbed
you had disturbed
they had disturbed

Future
I will disturb
you will disturb
he/she/it will disturb
we will disturb
you will disturb
they will disturb

Future Perfect
I will have disturbed
you will have disturbed
he/she/it will have disturbed
we will have disturbed
you will have disturbed
they will have disturbed

Future Continuous
I will be disturbing
you will be disturbing
he/she/it will be disturbing
we will be disturbing
you will be disturbing
they will be disturbing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been disturbing
you have been disturbing
he/she/it has been disturbing
we have been disturbing
you have been disturbing
they have been disturbing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been disturbing
you will have been disturbing
he/she/it will have been disturbing
we will have been disturbing
you will have been disturbing
they will have been disturbing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been disturbing
you had been disturbing
he/she/it had been disturbing
we had been disturbing
you had been disturbing
they had been disturbing

Conditional
I would disturb
you would disturb
he/she/it would disturb
we would disturb
you would disturb
they would disturb

Past Conditional
I would have disturbed
you would have disturbed
he/she/it would have disturbed
we would have disturbed
you would have disturbed
they would have disturbed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	disturb - move deeply; "This book upset me"; "A troubling thought" trouble, upset charge up, commove, agitate, rouse, excite, turn on, charge - cause to be agitated, excited, or roused; "The speaker charged up the crowd with his inflammatory remarks" jolt - disturb (someone's) composure; "The audience was jolted by the play" cark, disorder, disquiet, perturb, unhinge, distract, trouble - disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed; "She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill" impress, strike, affect, move - have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; "This child impressed me as unusually mature"; "This behavior struck me as odd" distress - cause mental pain to; "The news of her child's illness distressed the mother"
	2.	disturb - change the arrangement or position of raise up, commove, stir up, vex, shake up, agitate scramble, beat - stir vigorously; "beat the egg whites"; "beat the cream" toss - agitate; "toss the salad" rile, roil - make turbid by stirring up the sediments of poke - stir by poking; "poke the embers in the fireplace" move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant"
	3.	disturb - tamper with; "Don't touch my CDs!" touch alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" upset - disturb the balance or stability of; "The hostile talks upset the peaceful relations between the two countries" violate - destroy; "Don't violate my garden"; "violate my privacy"
	4.	disturb - destroy the peace or tranquility of; "Don't interrupt me when I'm reading" interrupt act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"
	5.	disturb - damage as if by shaking or jarring; "Don't disturb the patient's wounds by moving him too rapidly!" damage - inflict damage upon; "The snow damaged the roof"; "She damaged the car when she hit the tree"

disturb

verb

1. interrupt, trouble, bother, startle, plague, disrupt, put out, interfere with, rouse, hassle, inconvenience, pester, intrude on, butt in on I didn't want to disturb you.

2. upset, concern, worry, trouble, shake, excite, alarm, confuse, distress, distract, dismay, unsettle, agitate, ruffle, confound, unnerve, vex, fluster, perturb, derange, discompose He had been disturbed by the news of the attack.
upset calm, relieve, reassure, settle, quiet, relax, compose, soothe, lull, pacify, quieten

3. muddle, disorder, mix up, mess up, disorganize, jumble up, disarrange His notes had not been disturbed.

4. ruffle, stir up, agitate, churn up a gentle wave or two disturbing the surface

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

disturb

verb

1. To alter the settled state or position of:

dislocate, displace, move, shake, shift.

2. To impair or destroy the composure of:

agitate, bother, discompose, disquiet, distract, flurry, fluster, perturb, rock, ruffle, shake (up), toss, unsettle, upset.

Informal: rattle.

3. To trouble the nerves or peace of mind of, especially by repeated vexations:

aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, chafe, exasperate, fret, gall, get, irk, irritate, nettle, peeve, provoke, put out, rile, ruffle, vex.

Idioms: get in one's hair, get on one's nerves, get under one's skin.

4. To break up the order or progress of:

disrupt, upset.

5. To put out of proper order:

derange, disarrange, disarray, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, jumble, mess up, mix up, muddle, tumble, unsettle, upset.

Translations

يُزْعِجُيُزْعِج، يُشَوِّشيُعَكِّرُ صَفْو، يُهيِّجيُقْلِق

rušitvyrušovatznepokojitrozbouřitrozrušit

forstyrreforurolige

stören unterbrechen aufrühren beunruhigen irritieren

ενοχλώ πειράζω

molestar alterar desordenar interrumpir perturbar

häiritä

déranger troubler gêner perturber préoccuper

uznemiriti

gera bilt viîraska, róta í, ÿfatrufla, ónáîa

disturbare frastornare incomodare perturbare

邪魔をする

방해하다

ardymasdrumstimassudrumstisujauktitrukdymas

radīt nekārtībassajaukttraucētuztraukt

storen

bekymre forstyrre gjøre engstelig uroe

zaniepokoić

perturbar

отвлекать

rozbúriť

motiti

störa

รบกวน

rahatsız etmeküzmekhuzurunu bozmakkarıştırmak

quấy rầy

扰乱搞乱使焦虑妨碍弄乱

disturb

[dɪsˈtɜːb] VT

1. (= bother) [+ person, animal] → molestar
"please do not disturb" → se ruega no molestar
sorry to disturb you → perdona la molestia
try not to disturb Joseph, he's asleep → intenta no despertar a Joseph, está durmiendo

2. (= interrupt) [+ order, balance] → alterar; [+ meeting, sleep] → interrumpir; [+ silence] → romper
a car alarm disturbed her sleep → una alarma de coche interrumpió su sueño or la despertó
to disturb the peace (Jur) → alterar el orden público
they disturbed a burglar breaking into their house → sorprendieron a un ladrón que estaba intentando entrar en su casa
her constant questions disturbed his concentration → sus constantes preguntas le impedían concentrarse

3. (= worry) → preocupar; (= upset) → afectar
the news disturbed him greatly → la noticia le preocupó enormemente
the photos of the war victims disturbed her → las fotos de las víctimas de guerra la afectaron

4. (= disarrange) [+ papers] → desordenar; [+ water, sediment] → agitar
somebody had been in her room and disturbed her things → alguien había estado en su cuarto y había revuelto sus cosas
the police asked if anything had been disturbed → la policía preguntó si había algo fuera de su sitio

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

disturb

[dɪˈstɜː^rb] vt

(= inconvenience, interrupt) [+ person] → déranger; [+ sleep] → troubler
sorry to disturb you → excusez-moi de vous déranger
to disturb the peace (LAW) → troubler l'ordre public

(= disarrange) [+ papers] → déranger

[+ burglar] → surprendre

(= upset) [+ person] → troubler, perturber (= worry) → inquiéter

disturb

(= interrupt) person, sleep, silence, balance → stören; the pain disturbed my sleep → vor Schmerzen habe ich schlecht geschlafen; sorry to disturb you → entschuldigen Sie bitte die Störung

(= alarm) person → beunruhigen

waters → bewegen; sediment → aufwirbeln; papers → durcheinanderbringen; (fig) peace of mind → stören; to disturb the peace → die Ruhe stören

vi → stören; “please do not disturb” → „bitte nicht stören“

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

disturb

[dɪsˈtɜːb] vt

a. (bother) → disturbare, importunare; (inconvenience) → scomodare
sorry to disturb you → scusi se la disturbo
"please do not disturb" → "non disturbare"

b. (worry, person) → turbare; (disrupt, sleep, order, meeting) → turbare, disturbare; (ruffle, water) → turbare

c. (disarrange, papers) → scompigliare; (move) → spostare

disturb

(diˈstəːb) verb

1. to interrupt or take attention away from. I'm sorry, am I disturbing you?

2. to worry or make anxious. This news has disturbed me very much.

3. to stir up or throw into confusion. A violent storm disturbed the surface of the lake.

diˈsturbance noun

1. a noisy or disorderly happening. He was thrown out of the meeting for causing a disturbance.

2. an interruption. I've done quite a lot of work, despite several disturbances.

3. an act of disturbing. He was arrested for disturbance of the peace.

disturb

→ يُزْعِجُ rušit forstyrre stören ενοχλώ molestar, perturbar häiritä déranger uznemiriti disturbare 邪魔をする 방해하다 storen forstyrre zaniepokoić perturbar отвлекать störa รบกวน rahatsız etmek quấy rầy 扰乱

disturb

v. perturbar, incomodar, molestar, inquietar.

References in classic literature ?

They received Pierre in their small, new drawing-room, where it was impossible to sit down anywhere without disturbing its symmetry, neatness, and order; so it was quite comprehensible and not strange that Berg, having generously offered to disturb the symmetry of an armchair or of the sofa for his dear guest, but being apparently painfully undecided on the matter himself, eventually left the visitor to settle the question of selection.

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Anne turned back again resolved not to disturb him.

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Heathcliff!' I exclaimed; 'were you not ashamed to disturb the dead?'

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With no new alarm to disturb them, Effie, Annis, and Priscilla had yielded to the composing influences of a good supper and a warm night.

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He looked out several times at Mukhorty and could see that his back was uncovered and the drugget and breeching lying on the snow, and that he ought to get up and cover him, but he could not bring himself to leave Nikita and disturb even for a moment the joyous condition he was in.

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The latter accepted the offer, but did not talk, being unwilling to disturb Gania's work.

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If I must eat my hard fare here, madam," cries she to the landlady, "I beg the kitchen may be kept clear, that I may not be surrounded with all the blackguards in town: as for you, sir," says she to Partridge, "you look somewhat like a gentleman, and may sit still if you please; I don't desire to disturb anybody but mob."

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George, who is patron of us all," said the Sheriff vigorously, "that I will never disturb or distress the outlaws in Sherwood."

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"Yes, yes," said he; "you disturb, you agitate the people who live in the castle."

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de Gesvres, who stopped him politely, telling him not to speak too loud and disturb the king.

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Some of the strange questions put to me by the woman in white, after my ill-considered promise to leave her free to act as she pleased, had suggested the conclusion either that she was naturally flighty and unsettled, or that some recent shock of terror had disturbed the balance of her faculties.

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You also observed that Mimi was disturbed in her mind at the way Mr.

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