Disturbance

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /dɪsˈtɜː(ɹ)bÉ™ns/

Alternative forms

• disturbaunce

Origin

Middle English, from Old French destorbance

Full definition of disturbance

Noun

1. The act of disturbing, being disturbed.
2. Something that disturbs.That guy causes a lot of trouble, you know, he's such a disturbance.
3. An interruption of that which is normal or regular.
• 2012-01, Donald Worster, A Drier and Hotter Future, Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such dust storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.
4. (psychology) A serious mental imbalance or illness.

Antonyms

• calmness