DISRUPTS Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

disrupts

verb

present tense third-person singular of disrupt

as in breaks

to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly an earthquake that had disrupted the elevated highway in several places

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as in disturbs

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of disrupts Montemayor told Campus Insights Media that alcohol disrupts rest at a biological level, fragmenting sleep into short bursts that leave a person feeling drained the following morning. — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2026 Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming at low cost, triggering hazardous haze that reduces visibility, disrupts land and air transportation and threatens public health. — Muhammad Hatta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026 Change disrupts the status quo, and employees often resist change activities to preserve stability. — John Radman, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 In Egypt, for example, steep hikes in fuel and food prices and enormous losses of Suez Canal revenues as the war disrupts global shipping are compounding existing fiscal and unemployment crises. — Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 The capability could prove useful during missions where electronic warfare disrupts conventional navigation systems. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026 Sleep and health researchers say moving clocks twice a year disrupts the body's circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep and other biological functions. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026 Salt, like vinegar, also disrupts plant cell growth and dries out plant tissues. — The Spruce, 6 Aug. 2026 The pipeline has played a key role in moving Saudi oil exports to market as Iran disrupts the Strait of Hormuz with attacks on tankers. — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 30 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disrupts

Verb

One company, ZBiotics, touts a bacteria modified to produce an enzyme that breaks acetaldehyde down.

— Shayla Love, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026
My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply.

— Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of breaks

Verb

Traffic between somebody else's router and somebody else's laptop, say in a random coffee shop or an airport, can provide the radio field that your body disturbs to create your specific signature.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2026
Tilling or plowing in the summer disturbs the soil's delicate ecosystem and exposes moist soil to rapid water loss.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 24 June 2026

Definition of disturbs

Verb

T cells, a type of immune cell that detects and destroys infected or abnormal cells, normally perform this inspection.

— William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
The white dwarf emits radiation and produces a giant gas bubble—the lion’s face—that destroys dust in its path.

— Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of destroys

Verb

Bookshelves were filled with actual paperwork and documents used by medical professionals, while even the hairline fractures visible on X-rays were created with the guidance of real-life practicing physicians.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
With enough pulses, the fast-swelling channel, as in Yutkin’s investigation, induces a shock wave that fractures the rock.

— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of fractures

Verb

In the clip, Dawkins shuffles out onto the field with no shirt, a pair of Crocs and a clear plastic bag ready to get the ol' inside-out treatment.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026
An exhibition game also shuffles the storylines — some players emerge, others might fade.

— Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of shuffles

Verb

Even those who can afford to stay suffer losses in home equity and lifestyle as the community around them disintegrates or disappears.

— The Conversation, Fortune, 12 June 2026
None are quite about the conflicting frames of reference and value that arise when an ancient cultural formation disintegrates and a successor has yet to take its place.

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026