Crossword Dictionary
DISTURB
disturb - v
damage as if by shaking or jarring; "Don't disturb the patient's wounds by moving him too rapidly!"
Synonyms
agitate, alarm, amaze, annoy, arouse, astound, complicate, confuse, depress, dishearten, disrupt, distract, excite, frighten, gall, interrupt, irk, irritate, outrage, perplex, perturb, plague, provoke, puzzle, rattle, shake, startle, trouble, unnerve, unsettle, vex, worry, afflict, ail, badger, confound, discompose, distress, fluster, grieve, harass, interfere, intrude, molest, muddle, pain, pester, pique, rouse, ruffle, tire, unhinge
Examples
Darian started towards the stairwell then stopped, not wanting to disturb Jenn after their long night.
Both lay awake, trying not to disturb the other while neither slept until hours after the sun finally slipped around the corner to the other side of the world.
Its presence contributes to the dark colour of many basalts and other basic rocks, and may cause them to disturb the compass.
Etymology
late 13c. distourben, "to frighten, alarm, break up the tranquility of;" c. 1300, "to stop or hinder;" from Old French destorber (Old North French distourber) and directly from Latin disturbare "throw into disorder," from dis- "completely" (see dis-) + turbare "to disorder, disturb," from turba "turmoil" (see turbid). Related: Disturbed; disturbing; disturbingly.