disturb
gb/dɪstˈɚb/ us/dɪstˈɚb/
B1
English
~ 3000
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B1
action
1
Interrupt someone's activity or peace
To stop someone from working, resting, or thinking by making them pay attention to you or something else.
Usage pattern:
to disturb [someone]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'disturb' with 'bother'. While similar, 'disturb' more strongly implies interrupting an action or state of rest.
Synonyms
interrupt (Implies breaking into an ongoing activity, often by speaking or acting suddenly.)
Antonyms
leave alone (Means not to bother or interfere with someone.)
Collocations
disturb the peace
|disturb someone at work
|disturb a meeting
|disturb sleep
Themes
daily life
|emotions
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Please don't disturb me while I'm studying.
- The noise from the street disturbed her concentration.
- I hope I'm not disturbing you by calling so late.
- He didn't want to disturb the sleeping baby.
Learner examples
- Please do not disturb me now.
- The loud music disturbed him.
- I don't want to disturb your work.
- She disturbed me while I was reading.
Verb
B2
action
2
Cause worry or upset
To make someone feel bad, scared, or worried.
Usage pattern:
to disturb [someone]
Common mistake:
Learners may overuse 'disturb' in casual contexts where 'worry' or 'make sad' is more natural.
Synonyms
upset (A general term for causing emotional distress, often softer than 'disturb'.)
Antonyms
reassure (Means to remove worry or fear from someone.)
Collocations
deeply disturb
|emotionally disturb
|disturb the public
Themes
emotions
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The news of the accident disturbed her greatly.
- Some scenes in the movie may disturb younger viewers.
- It disturbed me to hear about the violence.
Learner examples
- The bad news disturbed him.
- The scary story disturbed her.
- Loud fights disturb me.
Verb
B2
action
3
Change normal order or position
To move something so it is not in its normal place or order.
Usage pattern:
to disturb [something]
Synonyms
disrupt (Often used for systems or processes; 'disturb' can be more physical and small-scale.)
Antonyms
leave intact (Means not to alter or move something from its original state.)
Collocations
disturb the arrangement
|disturb the surface
|disturb the soil
Themes
daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Don't disturb the papers on my desk.
- The wind disturbed the calm surface of the lake.
- She carefully closed the box so as not to disturb its contents.
Learner examples
- Do not disturb the books.
- The wind disturbed the water.
- He disturbed the sand with his foot.
Grammar
Dictionary form
disturb
IPA
GB/dɪstˈɚb/
US/dɪstˈɚb/
Syllables & stress
dis - turb (2 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (turb)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: disturb
- 3rd Person Singular: disturbs
- Present Participle: disturbing
- Past: disturbed
Word family
Forms
disturbs
verb
disturbing
verb
disturbed
verb
Core family
disturbance
noun B1
Related words
disturbingly
adverb
Negative and opposite forms
undisturbed
adjective
Expressions
disturb the peace
1/dɪstˈɚb ðə pˈis/
fixed phrase
Make noise or trouble in public places
To make loud noise or cause trouble in a public place, breaking the law or rules.
Examples
- He was arrested for disturbing the peace after shouting in the street.
- The neighbors complained that they were disturbing the peace with their party.
do not disturb
1/dˈu nˈɑt dɪstˈɚb/
fixed phrase
Instruction to not interrupt someone
A sign or message telling people not to interrupt you.
Examples
- I put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on my hotel door.
- Please set your phone to 'Do Not Disturb' during the meeting.