Definition of PERTURB

perturb

Verb

Verb Forms: perturbed, perturbing, perturbs

  • To make someone anxious or unsettled; to disturb greatly.
  • 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"
  • disturb or interfere with the usual path of an electron or atom
    • "The electrons were perturbed by the passing ion"
  • cause a celestial body to deviate from a theoretically regular orbital motion, especially as a result of interposed or extraordinary gravitational pull
    • "The orbits of these stars were perturbed by the passings of a comet"
  • throw into great confusion or disorder
    • "Fundamental Islamicists threaten to perturb the social order in Algeria and Egypt"
  • To disturb; to bother or unsettle.
  • To slightly modify the motion of an object.
  • To modify the motion of a body by exerting a gravitational force.
  • To modify slightly, such as an equation or value.

Examples

  • The unexpected bingo did PERTURB his opponent’s winning streak.

Origin / Etymology

From Late Middle English perturben (“to disturb (someone) mentally, disquiet; to cause disorder to (something), confuse; to hinder (something)”), from Old French perturber, and from its etymon Latin perturbāre, the present active infinitive of perturbō (“to confuse; to alarm, disturb, trouble, perturb”), from per- (intensifying prefix) + turbō (“to agitate, disturb, unsettle, perturb; to upset”) (from turba (“disorder, disturbance, turmoil”) (possibly from Ancient Greek τῠ́ρβη (tŭ́rbē, “confusion, disorder, tumult”), either from Pre-Greek, or Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- (“to agitate, stir up; to urge on, propel”)) + -ō (suffix forming infinitives of regular first-conjugation verbs)).

Synonyms

cark, derange, disorder, disquiet, distract, throw out of kilter, trouble, unhinge, agitate, bother, bring down, discompose, disconcert, disturb, enturbulate, mortify, perturb, put out, ruffle, throw off balance, unsettle, upset

Scrabble Score: 11

perturb: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
perturb: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
perturb: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

perturb: valid Words With Friends Word