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

Belleville offered a disturbing picture of what could have happened without an armed officer outside. — Ariella Noveck, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026

Early in the book, there’s a disturbing scene in which Cathy’s mother stumbles upon a half naked 10-year-old Cathy lying on the floor beneath two teenage boys. — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 25 Sep. 2026

Verb

There’s a story there, a complicated and disturbing one, but the new Netflix film Unabomber won’t be the one to give it to us. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

This enables engineering teams to upgrade active equipment without disturbing the underlying fiber backbone, improving flexibility and reducing downtime. — Ankit Agarwal, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026