perturb
perturb Lexical Profile
perturb Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To make someone anxious, unsettled, or mentally uneasy; to disturb the composure of.
"The sudden changes to the project timeline did not seem to perturb the experienced director."
To subject a physical system, celestial orbit, or regular process to a secondary influence that alters its normal state or path (especially in physics, astronomy, and mathematics).
"The gravitational pull of Jupiter is strong enough to perturb the orbits of nearby asteroids."
• Rhymes for perturb
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French perturber, which derives from Latin perturbare ('to confuse or throw into disorder'), formed from the intensive prefix per- ('thoroughly') and turbare ('to disturb or agitate'), from turba ('turmoil, crowd').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.