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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of disrupt
The colonial system has disrupted a lot, including our perception of ourselves and our food.
—
Osayi Endolyn, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 May 2025
Your sleep is disrupted at just about every phase of the child’s life, especially during the early stages.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 27 May 2025
Natural methods like vinegar, citrus, essential oils, and diatomaceous earth can disrupt or repel ants, though frequent reapplication is needed to keep them effective.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 25 May 2025
President Donald Trump has disrupted global trade and roiled markets in an effort to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 24 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for disrupt
Osayi Endolyn, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 May 2025
Your sleep is disrupted at just about every phase of the child’s life, especially during the early stages.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 27 May 2025
Natural methods like vinegar, citrus, essential oils, and diatomaceous earth can disrupt or repel ants, though frequent reapplication is needed to keep them effective.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 25 May 2025
President Donald Trump has disrupted global trade and roiled markets in an effort to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 24 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for disrupt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disrupt
Verb
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Ventura Fine testified that Clark was aware Combs had allegedly threatened to release explicit footage of her, while Cudi said Clark was the one who told him Combs had allegedly broken into his Los Angeles home after learning of his relationship with Ventura Fine.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
28 May 2025
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Clear communication, the ability to break things down into clear parts, and put them back together are essential.—
Ray Ravaglia,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
Verb
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Create Do-Not-Disturb Prompts To Discourage Interruptions Experiment with reducing your availability to interruptions by following specific practices that signal to others you shouldn’t be disturbed.—
Caroline Ceniza-Levine,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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Perhaps your time off request isn’t approved, or your vacation plans have been disturbed by your colleagues.—
Liz Simmons,
StyleCaster,
27 May 2025
Verb
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His left orbital bone and right cheekbone were also fractured, among other injuries.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2025
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Meanwhile, the civil-rights movement split the Democratic coalition—its Southern wing peeled off, never to return—and Vietnam fractured the liberals.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 May 2025
Verb
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Also, this word et cetera at the end of the sentence confused me.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
26 May 2025
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Weir was confused by the man’s unusual conviction, though.—
Louise Erdrich,
New Yorker,
25 May 2025
Verb
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During the week of my embed, the Russian military identified and destroyed a few of the Vampire pilots’ positions.—
Nataliya Gumenyuk,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2025
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Another key feature of algae oil is its high smoke point of 535 degrees—the temperature at which oil begins to break down, release dangerous chemicals, and destroy its nutrients.—
Jonathan Purtell,
Verywell Health,
27 May 2025
Verb
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The team then trained three seals–Nick, Luca, and Miro–to shuffle into place in front of a large screen and showed them the simulations.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
29 May 2025
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When one of the figures is placed at the top of a ramp, the force of gravity causes the toy to walk down to the bottom by shuffling its legs back and forth.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
23 May 2025
Verb
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With Bayern aiming to reduce their wage bill, the Wirtz signing would have come at the cost of at least an extra €20million (£16.8m, $22.7m) per year, on top of a transfer fee somewhere between €100m and €150m.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
28 May 2025
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Their original sentences, which were 12 years and seven years, respectively, were reduced in September 2023.—
Esther Kang,
People.com,
28 May 2025
Verb
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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
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The team seemed disorganized and began to unravel at that point, and the visitors took advantage.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disrupt. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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