Meaning & use
disturb
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To interrupt someone who is working, resting or sleeping, or to spoil their quiet.
Grammar: Takes an object: disturb the baby.
Patterns
- disturb someone
- disturb someone's sleep
Please don't disturb your father; he is on a call.
The noise from the street disturbed her sleep.
I'm sorry to disturb you, but there is a visitor at the door.
verbtransitive
To make someone feel worried, upset or uneasy.
Grammar: Often passive: I was disturbed by what I read.
Patterns
- disturb someone
- be disturbed by something
The graphic scenes in the film disturbed many viewers.
It disturbs me that nobody has checked the results.
She was deeply disturbed by the news.
verbtransitive
To move or change something from its settled or normal position or condition.
Grammar: Often used with things: disturb the soil.
Patterns
- disturb something
A light breeze barely disturbed the surface of the lake.
Please do not disturb the evidence at the scene.
The builders disturbed an old nest in the roof.
Word forms
| third person singular | disturbs |
|---|---|
| past tense | disturbed |
| past participle | disturbed |
| -ing form | disturbing |
Common combinations
- disturb the peace
- He was fined for disturbing the peace late at night.
- sorry to disturb you
- Sorry to disturb you, but your car lights are on.
- deeply disturbed
- The teacher was deeply disturbed by the report.
- disturb the sleep
- A barking dog disturbed the sleep of the whole street.
- do not disturb
- The sign on the hotel door said Do Not Disturb.
Synonyms and how they differ
- interrupt
- Interrupt means to break into an action or a speaker, while disturb also covers upsetting someone's rest or calm.
- bother
- Bother is more casual and often means a small annoyance, whereas disturb can describe something that truly upsets or interrupts.
- upset
- Upset focuses on emotional distress, but disturb can also describe interrupting or moving things.
- trouble
- Trouble sounds more polite and slightly dated when asking a favor, but disturb implies breaking into someone's quiet.
Opposites
Word family
- disturbance noun
- an interruption, or an outbreak of noisy trouble
- disturbed adjective
- worried or emotionally troubled
- disturbing adjective
- causing worry or unease
- disturbingly adverb
- in a way that causes unease
- undisturbed adjective
- not interrupted or moved
Commonly confused: disturb or distract?
disturb vs distract
Distract means to pull attention away from something, while disturb means to interrupt, upset or move something.
Practice
Which sentence uses disturb to mean worry or upset someone?
Choose one answer.
Only the second sentence is about emotional unease. The others mean interrupting someone or moving objects.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “disturb”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.