disturbingly

adverb

Definition of disturbinglynext
as in alarmingly

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 disturbingly Garfield is disturbingly riveting as Altman, with his hypnotizing performance painting the most damning picture of the OpenAI CEO yet in any form of media. — Hayden Field, The Verge, 8 Oct. 2026 Altercations between agitated people with dementia and other residents or workers charged with caring for them are disturbingly common in long-term care facilities and private homes. — Jordan Rau, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026 None did it quite as disturbingly, however, as Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen, one of the earliest stars of the early-21st-century reality-TV revolution. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026 His Chris Hansen is all flashy surface, full of jittery go-getter energy and disturbingly devoid of inner life. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2026 With Bryce Young as their starting quarterback the past three seasons, the Panthers have been disturbingly consistent in their Week 1 deficiencies, losing 26-10, 47-10 and 24-10. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2026 As Cuba’s hot summer nears its end with no sign of regime change on the communist-run island, Cubans continue to suffer miserable living conditions as the country’s humanitarian crisis gets disturbingly worse. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026 Through its complex depiction of a bloodthirsty mob, M explores the disturbingly violent tendencies inherent in human nature. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 2026 Dreams are one of the central organizing principles in a book that takes much of its power from how disturbingly unmoored the narrative is. — Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disturbingly
  1. alarmingly
  2. unsettlingly
  3. distressingly
  4. disgustingly
  5. annoyingly
  6. irritatingly
  7. awfully
  8. terribly
Adverb
  • Those copious field reports, sworn affidavits, and telegrams signed, alarmingly, HOOVER, would fascinate, enrage, and unmoor me.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The most infamous alignment risk experiment was one Anthropic conducted in early 2025, in which the company’s researchers found evidence that Claude and other leading AI models were alarmingly fond of blackmail.
    — Kevin Roose, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of alarmingly
Adverb
  • What the skeleton’s injuries actually resembled, somewhat unsettlingly, was a collision with a fast-moving train or car.
    — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 23 Sep. 2026
  • After a brief stay in a very creepy hospital (unsettlingly empty) Hal and John reunite.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of unsettlingly
Adverb
  • The movie’s strongest sequences provide the all-too-rare sensation of truly not being able to believe your eyes, as the film’s most fantastical elements feel distressingly real.
    — Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026
  • The event was halted after an hour due to fears about her safety, which distressingly encapsulates a tension that the trans Mayan artist has navigated for years.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
Definition of distressingly
Adverb
  • High-level players will basically always be in a drift—even during straightaways—to seize every opportunity to boost, just like people who were disgustingly good at Mario Kart DS back in the day.
    — Adam Ismail, The Drive, 29 Apr. 2026
  • The next morning, Park awakes hung over before disgustingly scoffing down a handful of salmon off a caterer's serving tray.
    — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026
Definition of disgustingly
Adverb
  • And of course, my children finding ways to override my settings, thanks to Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and annoyingly good guesses.
    — Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Pivots into a black-and-white Brazilian telenovela, which Camilo tunes into nightly while on baby duty, feed into the film’s nesting-doll narrative on paper, but in practice make for annoyingly gratuitous flourishes.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of annoyingly
Adverb
  • The contemporary 2017 storyline of Sebastian’s grandson Alberto (Carlos González) rediscovering the play his grandfather saved, meanwhile, was meant to be as irritatingly digital and constantly jittering as Alberto’s anxiety is.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Such politicians viewed literature as subversive, irritatingly highbrow, and—like socialism—suspiciously European.
    — Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
Definition of irritatingly
Adverb
  • Old, decaying fruit can get awfully messy, but maybe nature can take it from here, returning it to the soil or offering it up to the animals.
    — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The company hopes to make diagnostic testing cheaper and more accessible — a mission that may sound awfully familiar to anyone who followed the rise and fall of Theranos.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of awfully
Adverb
  • The North Carolina state legislator Jennifer Balkcom wasn’t terribly well-known before this election cycle.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026
  • By focusing on the brain’s extraordinary—and still under-recognized—capacity for repair, Swain doesn’t encourage us to marvel at the many ways in which things can go terribly wrong.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of terribly

Browse Nearby Words

disturbing
disturbingly
disturbs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Disturbingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disturbingly. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of wabi-sabi

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All