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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disrupt
Arsenic disrupts immune function as well, increasing susceptibility to infections and possibly reducing vaccine effectiveness.
—
Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
Likewise, extreme heat can disrupt airline schedules, because some planes may struggle to take off when the temperatures soar.
—Zach Wichter, USA Today, 19 June 2025
The underlying playbook is clear:... Post AI doesn’t need a sci-fi upgrade to upend the economy—current models, and the cheaper, more capable versions already in the pipeline, are set to disrupt nearly every corner of the labor market.
—Christian Catalini, Harvard Business Review, 19 June 2025
The earthquake disrupted the World Series and damaged the Bay Bridge, Oakland’s Cypress Freeway, and swaths of San Francisco.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for disrupt
Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
Likewise, extreme heat can disrupt airline schedules, because some planes may struggle to take off when the temperatures soar.
—Zach Wichter, USA Today, 19 June 2025
The underlying playbook is clear:... Post AI doesn’t need a sci-fi upgrade to upend the economy—current models, and the cheaper, more capable versions already in the pipeline, are set to disrupt nearly every corner of the labor market.
—Christian Catalini, Harvard Business Review, 19 June 2025
The earthquake disrupted the World Series and damaged the Bay Bridge, Oakland’s Cypress Freeway, and swaths of San Francisco.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for disrupt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disrupt
Verb
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Those same fans then saw Judge show off his otherworldly strength in the Yankees’ 5-3 loss to the Orioles, as his solo home run off Tomoyuki Sugano in the third inning broke a 2-2 tie.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
21 June 2025
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The idea was that a group of military commandos would break quarantine and try to get to the place where the virus had originated, in order to find a cure.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
21 June 2025
Verb
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Later, her sister-in-law texts her, upset that her children were disturbed by her departure.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
11 June 2025
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Many more are disturbed by the politicization of churches and turned off by dogmas that promote hate and discord, finding religious teachings and traditions to be outdated and incompatible with their values.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 June 2025
Verb
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In the years to come, a Russian encroachment onto the territory of a Baltic member of NATO, coupled with threats to use nuclear weapons if NATO resisted, could fracture the West.—
KORI SCHAKE,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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Relations between cities and counties can certainly fracture.—
Blake Nelson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Map their journey to spot every gap, make buying effortless with fewer steps, communicate clearly so no one gets confused, add personal touches that create connection, and follow up fast to turn buyers into advocates.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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Letters: Washington, D.C., has a deficit of humanity Do not confuse my warning to Israel for a shred of understanding for what Hamas did on Oct. 7, 2023.—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
14 June 2025
Verb
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But the conflict has only escalated, with Russia’s launching some of its most extensive strikes in a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of casualties, and Ukraine’s carrying out the audacious Operation Spiderweb drone attack, which damaged or destroyed strategic aircraft inside Russia.—
Adam Rasmi,
Time,
20 June 2025
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Kanye West fired multiple PR firms before his antisemitic meltdowns destroyed billion-dollar partnerships with Adidas and Gap.—
Lilian Raji,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
Verb
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Nicolo Barella would often drop between Stefan de Vrij and right centre-back Matteo Darmian or pull wide outside of Urawa’s defensive block to kickstart Inter’s possession, meaning the Japanese side were comfortable shuffling from side to side with the game in front of them.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
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The latest major example of this reliable horror subgenre shuffling (or in this case running) into theaters is 28 Years Later.—
James Grebey,
Time,
20 June 2025
Verb
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And don’t overlook the device section—Oura Ring and T3 are significantly reduced, much to our excitement.—
Kristina Rutkowski,
Vogue,
20 June 2025
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All evacuation orders have been reduced to warnings.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
20 June 2025
Verb
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The closet is probably the easiest room to ignore when things get disorganized.—
Shea Simmons,
People.com,
8 Mar. 2025
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Taken together, the first four Mission: Impossibles were compellingly disorganized, a stark contrast with Hollywood’s ever more rigid notion of how to construct a franchise.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disrupt. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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