disturbance

English

Alternative forms

• disturbaunce (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English disturbaunce, from Old French destorbance, destourbance, from destourber (“disturb”), from Latin disturbō. Surface analysis disturb +‎ -ance.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɪˈstɜːbn̩s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dɪˈstɝbn̩s/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dis‧tur‧bance

Noun

disturbance (countable and uncountable, plural disturbances)

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. A noisy commotion that causes a hubbub or interruption.
4. An interruption of that which is normal or regular.

   Hyponym: flutter in the dovecote

   • 2012 January 1, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist‎^[1], volume 100, number 1, page 70:

     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.

5. (psychology) A serious mental imbalance or illness.

Antonyms

• calmness

Translations

act of disturbing, being disturbed

• Bulgarian: смущение (bg) n (smuštenie), смут (bg) m (smut)
• Catalan: pertorbació f, destorb (ca) m
• Czech: rušení n
• Danish: forstyrrelse c
• Dutch: storing (nl) f, verstoring (nl) f
• Esperanto: perturbo
• French: trouble (fr) m, tapage (fr) m
• German: Störung (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌳𐍂𐍉𐌱𐌽𐌰 m (drōbna)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἄραδος m (árados)

• Hebrew: הפרעה‎ f (hafra'a)
• Japanese: 動乱 (ja) (dōran), 動揺 (ja) (dōyō)

• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاژاوە‎ (ku) (ajawe)

• Luhya: bunani
• Malagasy: korontana (mg)
• Malayalam: അലട്ടൽ (ml) (alaṭṭal)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forstyrrelse m

• Occitan: perturbacion (oc) f, destorbi (oc) m
• Old English: gedrefnes
• Portuguese: estorvo (pt) m, perturbação (pt) f
• Romanian: deranjare (ro) f, tulburare (ro) f, perturbare (ro) f
• Russian: беспоря́дки (ru) m pl (besporjádki), волне́ния (ru) n pl (volnénija)
• Scottish Gaelic: aimhreit f
• Spanish: disturbio (es) m, estorbo (es) m, perturbación (es) f
• Swahili: utundu (sw)
• Swedish: störning (sv) c
• Tocharian B: krämpālñe

something that disturbs

• Bengali: জ্বালাতন (jbalatôn)
• Czech: výtržník m (person)
• Danish: forstyrrelse c
• German: Störenfried (de) m
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاژاوە‎ (ku) (ajawe)

• Maori: āheihei, ngangau, rarī, rawehoi, raweoi, ngari

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forstyrrelse m

• Portuguese: estorvo (pt) m, perturbação (pt) f
• Romanian: deranj (ro) n, încomodare f
• Russian: (person) наруши́тель (ru) m (narušítelʹ), наруши́тельница (ru) f (narušítelʹnica)
• Spanish: estorbo (es), perturbación (es) f
• Swedish: störning (sv) c

a noisy commotion

• Greek:

  Ancient: ταραχή f (tarakhḗ)

• Latin: turba (la) f
• Maori: taute, ngangau, āheihei, heihei (mi), manioro, rarī

interruption of that which is normal or regular

• Bulgarian: безредие (bg) n (bezredie), бъротия f (bǎrotija)
• Czech: narušení n, vyrušení n
• German: Störung (de) f
• Japanese: 混乱 (ja) (konran)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاژاوە‎ (ku) (ajawe)

• Maori: ngaungau, āheihei, heihei (mi), pororaru

• Portuguese: perturbação (pt) f
• Romanian: perturbare (ro) f, perturbație (ro) f, deranjament (ro) n
• Russian: расстро́йство (ru) n (rasstrójstvo), наруше́ние (ru) n (narušénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: atharrachadh m
• Spanish: perturbación (es)
• Swedish: avbrott (sv) n, störning (sv) c

(psychology) serious mental imbalance or illness

• Czech: duševní porucha f
• German: Störung (de) f, Geistesstörung f
• Portuguese: distúrbio (pt) m, transtorno (pt) m
• Romanian: tulburare (ro) f, perturbație (ro) f

• Russian: расстро́йство (ru) n (rasstrójstvo)
• Spanish: perturbación (es) f, trastorno (es) m
• Swedish: rubbning (sv) c, störning (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} verstoring (nl)
• German: [1] ^{(please verify)} Störung (de) [2] ^{(please verify)} Belästigung (de), ^{(please verify)} Beunruhigung (de), ^{(please verify)} Aufregung (de) [3] ^{(please verify)} Unruhe (de), ^{(please verify)} Tumult (de), ^{(please verify)} Aufruhr (de) [4] ^{(please verify)} Verwirrung (de)

• Irish: ^{(please verify)} anbhuain f
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 打擾 (zh), ^{(please verify)} 打扰 (zh) (dǎrǎo)

Anagrams

• bedcurtains