Synonyms of disturbing

disturbing 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈstər-biŋ 

1

as in annoying

causing annoyance

a disturbing visit by the next-door neighbor while I was trying to study

Synonyms & Similar Words

• annoying
• frustrating
• irritating
• aggravating
• maddening
• exasperating
• irksome
• vexing
• bothersome
• painful
• abrasive
• vexatious
• pestilential
• pesky
• pestiferous
• nettlesome
• troubling
• distractive
• galling
• nettling
• rebarbative
• infuriating
• disquieting
• stressful
• peeving
• riling
• pesty
• carking
• chafing
• upsetting
• troublesome
• plaguey
• rankling
• pestilent
• discomforting
• displeasing
• distressing
• biting
• mischievous
• importunate
• offensive
• burdensome
• enraging
• worrisome
• tiresome
• angering
• trying
• inconveniencing
• jarring
• importune
• thorny
• spiny
• bratty
• brattish
• grating
• jangling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• delightful
• pleasing

2

as in embarrassing

causing embarrassment

there was a disturbing silence as I struggled to remember her name

Synonyms & Similar Words

• embarrassing
• uncomfortable
• awkward
• unpleasant
• confusing
• disconcerting
• difficult
• discomfiting
• unsettling
• humiliating
• troublesome
• impossible
• flustering
• disagreeable
• inconvenient
• intolerable
• unwieldy
• degrading
• demeaning
• mortifying
• humbling
• debasing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• convenient
• comfortable
• agreeable
• pleasing

3

as in unsettling

causing worry or anxiety

a disturbing trend in the nation's energy consumption

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unsettling
• troubling
• frightening
• upsetting
• scary
• nasty
• distressing
• disquieting
• troublesome
• worrisome
• discomforting
• shocking
• perturbing
• terrifying
• horrible
• terrible
• nagging
• troublous
• discouraging
• disconcerting
• dismaying
• alarming
• dire
• discomposing
• disheartening
• chilling
• demoralizing
• dispiriting
• daunting
• discomfiting
• dreadful
• horrifying
• direful
• fearful
• dread
• forbidding
• formidable
• ghastly
• frightful
• horrendous
• persecutory
• intimidating
• fearsome
• harassing
• persecutive
• hair-raising

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassuring
• settling
• soothing
• calming
• comforting
• narcotic
• relaxing
• dreamy
• sedative
• inviting
• quieting
• tranquilizing
• consoling
• lulling
• pacifying

4

as in uneasy

marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings

a disturbing pause in the normally smooth operation of the machinery

Synonyms & Similar Words

• uneasy
• unsettling
• tense
• anxious
• creepy
• nervous
• unnerving
• distressing
• disquieting
• restless
• distressful
• worrisome
• agitating
• embarrassing
• fraught
• hairy
• troublesome
• nerve-racking
• nail-biting
• bothersome
• discouraging
• strained
• awkward
• disheartening
• foreboding
• misgiving
• unrestful
• restive

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• easy
• quiet
• peaceful
• comfortable
• tranquil
• calming
• restful
• quieting
• pacific

disturbing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of disturb

1

as in alarming

to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy

all that talk of war disturbed us

Synonyms & Similar Words

• alarming
• distracting
• worrying
• bothering
• concerning
• unsettling
• distressing
• upsetting
• haunting
• angering
• disquieting
• agitating
• dismaying
• discomforting
• annoying
• perturbing
• plaguing
• irritating
• confusing
• embarrassing
• derailing
• unhinging
• undoing
• ailing
• freaking (out)
• exercising
• rattling
• exasperating
• aggravating
• fussing
• bugging
• discouraging
• discomposing
• harassing
• distempering
• flurrying
• frazzling
• weirding out
• vexing
• disconcerting
• hagriding
• irking
• jarring
• discomfiting
• pestering
• galling
• nettling
• unnerving
• grating
• mortifying
• riling
• harrying
• confounding
• chafing
• fretting
• disheartening
• bedeviling
• putting off
• piquing
• putting out
• daunting
• dispiriting
• getting
• demoralizing
• peeving
• chivying
• shaking up
• flustering
• discountenancing
• nonplussing
• abashing
• fazing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• soothing
• calming
• composing
• quieting
• settling
• alleviating
• tranquilizing
• allaying
• pacifying
• appeasing
• placating
• assuaging
• conciliating
• mollifying
• propitiating

2

as in removing

to change the place or position of

the items on her desk had been disturbed by someone

Synonyms & Similar Words

• removing
• moving
• shifting
• relocating
• transferring
• transporting
• conveying
• dislocating
• transposing
• displacing
• repositioning
• carrying
• hauling
• replacing
• transmitting
• driving
• budging
• altering
• varying
• superseding
• transplanting
• modifying
• toting
• lugging
• reworking
• bearing
• carting
• remodeling
• supplanting
• revising
• remaking
• revamping
• making over
• refashioning
• redoing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• setting
• freezing
• stabilizing
• securing
• fixing
• anchoring
• mooring
• embedding
• rooting
• lodging
• implanting
• entrenching
• ingraining

3

as in disrupting

to undo the proper order or arrangement of

her careful filing system is sure to be disturbed during the move

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disrupting
• confusing
• shuffling
• upsetting
• disorganizing
• scrambling
• jumbling
• disarranging
• mixing (up)
• disordering
• muddling
• deranging
• dislocating
• mussing
• tousling
• snarling
• unsettling
• tumbling
• hashing
• disjointing
• disarraying
• disheveling
• messing (up)
• rumpling
• discomposing
• perturbing
• tangling
• stirring (up)
• embroiling
• cluttering
• entangling
• agitating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• regulating
• ranging
• disposing
• organizing
• ordering
• arranging
• straightening (up)
• tidying
• drawing up
• adjusting
• aligning
• marshaling
• lining
• classifying
• arraying
• lining up
• queuing
• codifying
• systematizing
• fixing
• grooming
• making up
• methodizing
• systemizing
• sprucing (up)
• unscrambling

4

as in bothering

to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation

sorry to disturb you while you're working

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bothering
• worrying
• annoying
• troubling
• bugging
• intruding (upon)
• irritating
• pestering
• harassing
• provoking
• tormenting
• distressing
• chivying
• aggravating
• exasperating
• vexing
• angering
• infuriating
• inconveniencing
• irking
• gnawing
• plaguing
• enraging
• roiling
• maddening
• perturbing
• galling
• bedeviling
• persecuting
• nettling
• grating
• fretting
• riling
• afflicting
• dogging
• invading
• chafing
• hassling
• besetting
• rankling
• rasping
• antagonizing
• outraging
• piquing
• besieging
• dunning
• putting out
• agitating
• getting
• incensing
• beleaguering
• inflaming
• encroaching
• trespassing
• peeving
• obtruding
• deviling
• infringing
• cutting in (on)
• butting in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• disregarding
• leaving
• forgetting
• gratifying
• disarming
• slighting
• obliging
• satisfying
• pleasing
• appeasing
• placating
• comforting
• conciliating
• delighting
• consoling
• mollifying
• contenting
• gladdening

5

as in troubling

to cause discomfort to or trouble for

please do not disturb yourself—I'll get my own drink

Synonyms & Similar Words

• troubling
• weighing
• bothering
• inconveniencing
• upsetting
• incommoding
• putting out
• discommoding
• disobliging
• annoying
• angering
• hindering
• impeding
• aggravating
• provoking
• exasperating
• hampering
• burdening
• obstructing
• bugging
• inhibiting
• vexing
• interfering (with)
• encumbering
• handicapping
• saddling
• perturbing
• holding back
• tying up
• hobbling
• galling
• shackling
• riling
• hamstringing
• irking
• fettering
• chafing
• grating
• holding up
• inflaming
• piquing
• nettling
• agitating
• manacling
• getting
• peeving
• trammeling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assisting
• favoring
• aiding
• helping
• obliging
• accommodating
• facilitating
• abetting
• gratifying
• smoothing
• satisfying
• disarming
• pleasing
• easing
• comforting
• appeasing
• delighting
• consoling
• pacifying
• placating
• mollifying
• conciliating
• gladdening
• contenting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of disturbing

Adjective

The five-minute project, which was sponsored by Microsoft, stars Jon Lee Richardson as Floyd, a young man whose nap is interrupted by some very disturbing phone calls that quickly change the course of his day. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2026

One of the most disturbing reasons given was that the DOT will never install a speed reducer closer than a distance of 1,000 feet (nearly a quarter of a mile) from a speed camera. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 28 Oct. 2026

Verb

How the storm drain will be repaired Rather than digging up the entire pipe and disturbing residents’ yards, crews plan to install a new lining inside the existing pipe. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026

On vehicles with a dedicated secondary passenger display, front passengers can browse, view lyrics, and watch video content without disturbing the driver. — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026