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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Introducing conscious thoughts actually disrupts this flow and slows down the process. — Jesse Granger, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2026 The rare condition damages the spinal cord’s protective myelin sheath and disrupts nerve signals between the brain and body. — Rod McGuirk, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026 The truckers are adding their voices to demonstrations that have spread across Europe as the war disrupts economies. — ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026 Warren Lockette, professor of medicine and physiology and division chief for endocrinology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, told Campus Insights Media that an impact disrupts that signaling pathway. — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026 The program could also be targeted rather than universal — triggered by sector-specific unemployment spikes, income level, or geography, so the money flows first to the workers AI disrupts most. — Sarah Cannon, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026 Buyer said Anthropic's move could be seen favorably if the funds support retraining or help workers find alternative employment when the technology disrupts their jobs. — Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2026 Haidt argues that social media disrupts kids’ social and neurological development, contributing to rising anxiety and depression through sleep loss, fragmented attention, addiction, loneliness, social comparison and perfectionism. — Ari Lightman, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 Washingtonâ€™s policy â€œis more about visibility and narrativeâ€¦ than one that genuinely disrupts organized crime,â€� an expert told The Wall Street Journal. — Tasneem Nashrulla, semafor.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disrupts

Verb

Murray, with 128 yards and a touchdown, breaks Hall of Famer Jim Brown’s 56-year-old record.

— Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Back at The Pynk, Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan) dreams of expanding her empire while Roulette breaks the club’s cardinal rule to build hers.

— Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of breaks

Verb

Some of the sightings claim a man wearing clothing typical of the 17th or 18th centuries, a man dressed in Confederate attire in the liquor room, a ghost of a former worker Joseph Hardesty and a female who actively disturbs visitors to her home.

— Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
Vibration disturbs the natural sediments in wine, flattening the flavor and aging it prematurely.

— Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of disturbs

Verb

These include immune amnesia, a type of immunosuppression in which the measles virus destroys immune cells and adaptive responses.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
Cash flow is a timing problem, not a sales problem, and that difference destroys companies that look profitable on paper.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of destroys

Verb

The legal system dehumanizes her, the support group confuses her, and one of her friends painfully disappoints her.

— Carey Purcell, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
This confuses each Nyota but also those around them, who note that the Nyotas have rather quickly assumed new hairstyles but also that neither is behaving quite like herself.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of confuses

Verb

As grief turns to accusation, Warmooge’s mother refuses burial without justice, and the village fractures under the weight of uncertainty and pressure to resolve the truth.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026
This natural inversion destroys leadership, fractures relationships and halts self-improvement.

— Brendan Keegan, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of fractures

Verb

This reduces the turbulence around the suspension and in the trailer’s wake, and lowers the aerodynamic drag.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
There are studies suggesting that being on a regular training regimen reduces your risk of cancer recurrence.

— Samantha Ciaccia, Glamour, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of reduces

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