disruptive
adj.adj. causing trouble or change, often in a way that stops things from working as usual. You use this when something breaks the normal routine.
adj. causing disturbance, interruption, or significant change to an established order or system. Often used in business and technology contexts to describe innovations that displace existing methods.
The loud music was very disruptive.
The new software was disruptive to our daily workflow.
Electric vehicles are disruptive to the traditional automotive industry, forcing manufacturers to rethink their entire supply chain and business model.
From disrupt + -ive. In the business sense popularized by Clayton Christensen and Joseph Bower, see 1995 citation.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often followed by 'to' when specifying what is being disturbed.
disruptive for the marketdisruptive to the marketThe adjective typically takes the preposition 'to' when indicating the target of the disruption.
Last updated May 4, 2026