1
as in to break
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
an earthquake that had disrupted the elevated highway in several places
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to disturb
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
the arrival of a baby in the household would totally disrupt their established routine
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disrupt
Traffic was disrupted in the southwest Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn early Monday after a car hit a pole.
—
Adam Harrington, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026
Scores of foreign nationals who traveled to a remote Indian Ocean island seeking adventure have become stranded there as simmering tensions between warring Yemeni parties and their backers disrupt travel.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 5 Jan. 2026
Included in that group are the very wealthy as well as the upper middle class, where Thomas said people are starting to warily watch for a stock market crash and have jobs that can be disrupted by AI.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 5 Jan. 2026
For Trump, replacing Maduro would significantly disrupt drugs from South America.
—Javier Corrales, Time, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disrupt
Adam Harrington, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026
Scores of foreign nationals who traveled to a remote Indian Ocean island seeking adventure have become stranded there as simmering tensions between warring Yemeni parties and their backers disrupt travel.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 5 Jan. 2026
Included in that group are the very wealthy as well as the upper middle class, where Thomas said people are starting to warily watch for a stock market crash and have jobs that can be disrupted by AI.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 5 Jan. 2026
For Trump, replacing Maduro would significantly disrupt drugs from South America.
—Javier Corrales, Time, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disrupt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disrupt
Verb
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Even one of the greatest ever to play this game, Joe Root, could not work out how to break free of the 36-year-old’s shackles here, failing to score a single run off him for 23 balls in a row before finally yielding to the python-like grip when missing one that homed in on his pads.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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The Brisbane Stadium is expected to break ground this year, with a target completion date of 2031.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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He was also disturbed by the 2016 murder of Labour parliamentarian Jo Cox by a far-right figure associated with neo-Nazi groups who had been radicalized online.—
Andrew Lapin,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Jan. 2026
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But then Detective Nathanial Saint shows up carrying disturbing news and an even more unexpected jolt of creativity.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Winning slates sometimes fracture in office.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
10 Jan. 2026
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That confidence began to fracture long before today's headlines.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
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Canales-Pelaez said that local departments may be confusing administrative warrants with criminal ones, or overcomplying to avoid backlash from the state Legislature.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But the Red Sox destroyed and ended their relationship with their only true power hitter and proven winner for a player who, though an undeniably excellent addition, was here for 117 total games.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
12 Jan. 2026
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In the Pacific Palisades and nearby Malibu, flames burned for 31 days, scorching 37 square miles and destroying more than 6,000 structures, most of them homes.—
Sarah Alegre,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Even with my winter boots and sturdy soles, caution dictates a short stride, a shuffling gait end eyes riveted to the slippery ground.—
Thomas Cangelosi,
Hartford Courant,
4 Jan. 2026
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First, the sophomore shuffled back into coverage after showing A-gap pressure to intercept a Bryce Underwood pass over the middle of the field, ending a key fourth-quarter drive.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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During his January 2025 State of the State address, Little called for tax cuts that could reduce the state’s general fund by about $100 million.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
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To reduce sizes, builders are going back to open floor plans with fewer hallways.—
Lew Sichelman,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Most oppositions in competitive authoritarian regimes are fragmented and disorganized: in Hungary, for example, the opposition to Orban was split between the weak and discredited Socialist Party and the far-right Jobbik, which allowed Orban’s Fidesz party to coast to victories in 2014 and 2018.—
Steven Levitsky,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Dec. 2025
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The Four Main Attachment Styles The four main attachment styles are: secure, avoidant, anxious, and disorganized.—
Emily Shiffer,
Parents,
2 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disrupt. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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