to disturb
183
2.1
- verb
- /dɪˈstɜrb/
:
molestar
- Please do not disturb the guests while they are resting in their rooms.
- disturb the peace
And she was like, don't disturb Aslano Champierre.
- And she was like, don't disturb Aslano Champierre.
- Nothing is disturbing this tranquil presence.
- I think it was James Baldwin who said artists should disturb the peace.
- He even enacted a law forbidding anyone from disturbing his quiet.
- And frankly, changing the Do Not Disturb setting from your watch isn't that hard.
- Please leave your phone in that room and do not disturb people who are working beyond the next door.
- So we sort of parked everything in the do not disturb zone.
Examples
-
Students who work more slowly should not be disturbed by others who have completed the task.
Academic text (2012) -
Please leave your phone in that room and do not disturb people who are working beyond the next door.
-
No one must disturb you.
-
I'm sorry to disturb you, my lady.
-
I'm sorry to disturb you.
-
But he decided he did not want to disturb the sleeping messenger.
Fiction book (1992) -
We wouldn't want to disturb our other residents.
-
- I'm sorry, Francis, he gave orders not to be disturbed by anyone.
-
Landlords have the duty to ensure that tenants do not disturb the other tenants in the building.
Academic text (1991) -
I won't disturb thee.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To annoy or disturb someone
909
2.5
To stop someone speaking or an activity
449
2.0
To disturb or interrupt someone and make them feel annoyed
269
4.4
To interrupt normal activity and cause disorder
9
3.2
To make a sound or speak after a time of silence
7
4.9
To make someone feel worried or uneasy
7
7.0
To make someone feel worried or uneasy
A sudden sound, like a scream, that breaks the quiet
To disturb people or things
Antonyms
How Disturbing
Surface Forms
Morphology
disturb = dis + turb
The productive prefix 'dis-' signals reversal/negation, but the root 'turb' is not a standalone English word, so the meaning can be partly inferred but not fully derived by average learners.
Etymology
Disturb comes from dis- 'apart' and the root turb- 'to throw into confusion', the same root in turbulent and turbulence. Imagine a quiet room suddenly made noisy; that's why disturb means to break someone's peace or quiet.