EN

Synonyms for disturb

25 synonyms
2 antonyms
1 meaning

verb

Most common

agitate perturb bother unsettle

All synonyms

Verb

1. Agitate — to confuse a quiet, constant state or a calm, continuous flow, in particular, thoughts, actions or liquids

agitate, perturb, bother, unsettle, upset, vex, annoy, worry, distract, confuse, pester, ruffle, shake, stir, ruin, impede, waken, disquiet, roil, harass, displace, put out

Other

interrupt, meddle, touch

Antonyms

settle, reassure

All antonyms of disturb →

Definitions

v. 1
to confuse a quiet, constant state or a calm, continuous flow, in particular: thoughts, actions or liquids.
A school of fish disturbed the water.

Related words

Word family: disturbance disturbed disturbing

Forms

Past participle: disturbed
e.g. disturbed → agitated, perturbed, bothered, unsettled…

Example sentences

upset Tom was too upset to talk about what had happened.
agitate Now is not the time to agitate the hornet's nest.
unsettle What Tom said cannot unsettle me.
interrupt I don't want to interrupt Tom while he's speaking.
meddle He has no right to meddle in our family's problems.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
disturb		steady
upset		rising
agitate		steady
unsettle		rising
perturb		rising
interrupt		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: vex¹
4 letters: ruin², stir¹, roil¹
5 letters: touch¹, worry², upset², shake¹, annoy², waken²
6 letters: bother², harass², impede², meddle², ruffle², pester²
7 letters: confuse², agitate³, perturb²
8 letters: distract², displace², disquiet³, unsettle³
9 letters: interrupt³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (ruin² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: déranger
Español: desordenar
Deutsch: stören