disturbance
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a noisy situation or a fight that happens in public.
a public outbreak of disorder or a noisy commotion that interrupts peace.
Simple“The police were called to the street to deal with a small disturbance.”
In context“Local residents complained about the frequent disturbances caused by the nightclub's patrons late at night.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of stopping someone from concentrating or stopping a process from working normally.
the interruption of a settled state, process, or concentration.
Simple“I need to work in the library where there are no disturbances.”
In context“The construction work caused a significant disturbance to the local wildlife's nesting patterns.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
a medical condition where the mind or body does not work in a healthy way.
a clinical interruption of normal physical or mental functions.
Simple“The doctor noticed a slight sleep disturbance in the patient's records.”
In context“Early intervention is crucial when a child exhibits a persistent emotional disturbance that interferes with their education.”
Usage emotional disturbance
“Then, when the whale dove, they could see the same sort of disturbance they’d previously observed when submarines or ships on the surface motored over the cables.”
“Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of disturbances affecting old-growth forests, including drought and extreme wildfire.”
From Middle English disturbaunce, from Old French destorbance, destourbance, from destourber (“disturb”), from Latin disturbō. By surface analysis, disturb + -ance.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.