disruption

noun

dis·​rup·​tion dis-ˈrəp-shən 

plural disruptions

: the act or process of disrupting something : a break or interruption in the normal course or continuation of some activity, process, etc.

disruption of sleep

disruptions in service

a process that has continued without disruption

Throughout the history of medicine, health has been seen as a condition of equilibrium and illness as the disruption of a balanced state.

—David Mechanic

By 1925 most countries had recovered from the economic disruptions caused by the Great War of 1914-18.

—John A. Garraty

Synonyms

• derangement
• dislocation
• disturbance
• upset

Examples of disruption in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, this time, disruption is also coming for some white-collar workers, which makes its effects unknown and potentially more dangerous. —Himanshu Gupta, TIME, 23 Apr. 2024

Dan Scharf Keynote Conversation I Variety Power of Law Scharf explained how the disruption of last year’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes has affected plans and the outlook for moving forward at Amazon MGM Studios. —Jack Dunn, Variety, 19 Apr. 2024

Project organizers told council members that construction would involve no road closures or disruptions to area businesses. —Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 18 Apr. 2024

The city has also long tried to control the crowds in its red-light district, where rowdy groups of tourists often cause disruptions to local residents. —Claire Moses, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024

The 26 people arrested in the Golden Gate Bridge disruption were booked on multiple misdemeanor charges and a single felony charge of conspiracy, Jenkins said in the statement. —Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024

Despite the massive disruptions, the health care conglomerate beat estimates for first-quarter earnings as medical costs dropped from higher rates hit late last year, sending its shares up 5.3%. —Reuters, NBC News, 17 Apr. 2024

The emergency grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max 9 jetliner cost United Airlines $200 million in the first three months of this year, the airline said, blaming the disruption for its failure to turn a quarterly profit. —Leo Sands, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024

Apple’s decision to build up its manufacturing in Vietnam coincides with a prolonged initiative from the iPhone maker to make its supply chain less reliant on China—a process that has been years in the making since the pandemic era supply-chain disruptions caused numerous headaches for Apple. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1622, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

disruption

noun

dis·​rup·​tion dis-ˈrəp-shən 

: the act or process of breaking apart or rupturing

bandaged her leg tightly to prevent disruption of the partly healed wound

disrupt

dis-ˈrəpt 

transitive verb