# disturb

Pronunciation: say "di-STURB" US /dɪˈstɝb/, UK /dɪˈstɜːb/

## Verb

1. To break up a quiet, steady state or a calm, flowing one, such as thoughts, movements, or liquids.
   - Simple: To break the calm of something steady, like still water or quiet thoughts.
   - _Please don't disturb the sediment resting at the bottom of the jar._
   - _A sudden gust disturbed the glassy surface of the pond._
2. To have a negative emotional effect; to cause distress or confusion in a person.
   - Simple: To upset someone, or make them feel worried or scared.
   - _The graphic scenes in the documentary genuinely disturb._
   - _Something in his calm tone disturbed more deeply than anger would have._
3. To divert, redirect, or change the course of something by interfering with it.
   - Simple: To change the path or course of something by getting in its way.
   - _Mining operations can disturb the underground channels that feed the wells._
   - _Construction along the bank disturbed the river's natural flow._

## Noun

4. An interruption of peace or calm; a disturbance. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A break in calm or order, such as trouble or noise.
   - _The watchman reported a great disturb in the market square at midnight._
   - _Their quarrel caused such a disturb that the whole household woke._

## Origin

From Middle English destourben, via Anglo-Norman distourber and Old French destorber, from Latin disturbare: an intensified form of turbare ("to throw into disorder"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- ("to rotate, swirl, move around").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/disturb (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).