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
You might be surprised by just how disturbing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre remains more than 50 years later. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Sep. 2026 Although not quite as polished on the racial politics front, Lanterns’s third episode is no less intriguing, as an hour of television dedicated not only to answering pressing questions but fleshing out its lead character in disturbing ways. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026
Verb
But after a series of disturbing events begins occurring around town, including the arrival of a mysterious stranger, Madeline, Celeste, Renata, Jane and Bonnie must grapple with the weight of their past secrets, a synopsis reads. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 White also said that Robinson displayed disturbing behavior in the bedroom. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 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
  • The tiny farming settlement of Poilley, in Brittany, would become her home for the next eight years, and the subject of more than 50,000 intimate, often unsettling photographs.
    — Felix Bazalgette, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
  • And an overture from an ABC exec (Jessica Hecht) to Andie to jump ship represents another kind of unsettling grooming.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of unsettling
Adjective
  • As the video popped up on social media and the Spanish-language Facebook group Danbury Al Dia, Hernandez grew uneasy.
    — Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026
  • In addition to Cima and her father, the film centers on Hig and Bangley (Josh Brolin), two very different men whose uneasy partnership is shaped by the harsh realities of their new world.
    — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 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
  • And an unprecedented immigration crackdown is disrupting the labor supply in agriculture, construction, hospitality and food processing, raising prices even further.
    — Ana Ceballos, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano erupted early Sunday, prompting flight cancellations at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and disrupting flights at other airports.
    — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 6 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 10 Sep. 2026.

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