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disturbing 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈstər-biŋ How to pronounce disturbing (audio)
Definition of disturbingnext
1
as in annoying
causing annoyance a disturbing visit by the next-door neighbor while I was trying to study

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2
as in embarrassing
causing embarrassment there was a disturbing silence as I struggled to remember her name

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3
as in unsettling
causing worry or anxiety a disturbing trend in the nation's energy consumption

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4
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings a disturbing pause in the normally smooth operation of the machinery

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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

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2
as in removing
to change the place or position of the items on her desk had been disturbed by someone

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3
as in disrupting
to undo the proper order or arrangement of her careful filing system is sure to be disturbed during the move

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4
as in bothering
to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation sorry to disturb you while you're working

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5
as in troubling
to cause discomfort to or trouble for please do not disturb yourself—I'll get my own drink

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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 disturbing
Adjective
Red neon tubes illuminated art works ranging from the disturbing (a black-and-white photograph of a person stuffing sausages in their mouth) to the mundane (a pastoral painting of a snowshoe-wearing rifleman). — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2026 The disturbing allegations The parents of a 2-month-old baby are facing child abuse charges after the little girl died Wednesday at Baltimore's Harbor Hospital. — Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 11 Sep. 2026
Verb
But some have questioned how logging operations may impact the environment with the use of heavy machinery potentially disturbing soil composition, plant growth and animal species. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 7 Sep. 2026 Kyiv authorities told parents to prepare for the possibility of attacks disturbing school and urged them to teach their children what to do during an alert. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for disturbing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disturbing
  1. annoying
  2. embarrassing
  3. unsettling
  4. uneasy
  5. alarming
  6. removing
  7. disrupting
  8. bothering
Adjective
  • Yes, some of those fans are incredibly annoying—and some of those people aren’t even fans.
    — Corey Seymour, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Would Berman, then 49 years old, care about the project, or would the superstar personality treat it as an annoying burden thrust on him by his employer’s media arrangement?
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of annoying
Adjective
  • The issue became particularly embarrassing for the league because teams had previously been punished for using unauthorized charter flights.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Paying your old pal seven figures to hand you an embarrassing loss.
    — Chris Branch, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of embarrassing
Adjective
  • Nelson took 12 years to get the project made, and that labor-of-love aspect shows in the soulfulness and meticulous care the writer-director brings to this unsettling story of violence begetting violence, based on actual events.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Trapped together in the heavy, stifling isolation of the summer heat, the siblings’ bond begins to shift into something unsettling and difficult to define.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of unsettling
Adjective
  • Sam Altman is leading OpenAI through perhaps the most consequential—and uneasy—moment in artificial intelligence yet.
    — Fortune Editors, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026
  • In a desperate race against time, Rosalind and Sean are forced into an uneasy alliance, fighting to save her husband and expose a global trafficking empire that eliminates anyone who tries to stop it.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of uneasy
Verb
  • OpenAI’s use of a new technique that obscures AI agents’ chain of thought is alarming the research community.
    — Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The development proved alarming enough that OpenAI vowed last week to slow the release of its upcoming Astra AI model.
    — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of alarming
Verb
  • Water filtration is an easy option for backpackers but is less effective at removing viruses.
    — Elaine Reno, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The real frontier is removing the human latency between seeing a problem and solving it, and that’s exactly what agentic AI can help make possible.
    — Devendra Rajput, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of removing
Verb
  • Organizations must determine which systems are affected, understand the business consequences of remediation, and test and deploy fixes without disrupting critical operations.
    — Shane Buckley, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The researchers learned that parents were concerned by low-flying helicopter noise disrupting their children’s sleep and affecting their brain health.
    — Caroline Montojo, STAT, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of disrupting
Verb
  • The list of maladies bothering Ohtani is lengthy, and grew this week.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Ohtani reported that the area from his biceps to his neck was bothering him Wednesday night, Roberts said.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of bothering

Browse Nearby Words

disturbers
disturbing
disturbingly
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Cite this Entry

“Disturbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disturbing. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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