disturbing
adjective
dis·turb·ing
di-ˈstər-biŋ 
: causing feelings of worry, concern, or anxiety
disturbing news
a disturbing discovery
The next phase in which I had a part was even more disturbing, and infinitely more painful.—
Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
disturbingly
adverb
disturbingly high levels of pollution
a disturbingly familiar problem
… the texture of ordinary life and talk has taken on a disturbingly ambiguous quality …
—Jonathan Raban
Jonathan Raban
Examples of disturbing in a Sentence
a disturbing visit by the next-door neighbor while I was trying to study
there was a disturbing silence as I struggled to remember her name
a disturbing trend in the nation's energy consumption
a disturbing pause in the normally smooth operation of the machinery
Recent Examples on the Web
The standoff between the United States and Cuba is taking a disturbing toll on ordinary Cubans.
—Brett Perlmutter, Washington Post, 18 May 2026
Hundreds of pages of incident reports paint a disturbing picture — a 12-year-old convulsing after apparently swallowing an unknown object, a 15-year-old cutting a large gash in her arm with pieces of a broken toilet, residents stabbing staffers with wooden shards from a broken bed frame.
—Samantha Rappaport, CBS News, 18 May 2026
This article discusses examples of antisemitic hate speech that are disturbing but illustrate types of terms and how to counter this dangerous influence.
—Nathalie Japkowicz, The Conversation, 18 May 2026
There’s something disturbing about watching these already commonplace delusions about ChatGPT — Your particular version has a soul!
—Vulture, 17 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for disturbing
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Brett Perlmutter, Washington Post, 18 May 2026
Hundreds of pages of incident reports paint a disturbing picture — a 12-year-old convulsing after apparently swallowing an unknown object, a 15-year-old cutting a large gash in her arm with pieces of a broken toilet, residents stabbing staffers with wooden shards from a broken bed frame.
—Samantha Rappaport, CBS News, 18 May 2026
This article discusses examples of antisemitic hate speech that are disturbing but illustrate types of terms and how to counter this dangerous influence.
—Nathalie Japkowicz, The Conversation, 18 May 2026
There’s something disturbing about watching these already commonplace delusions about ChatGPT — Your particular version has a soul!
—Vulture, 17 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for disturbing
Cite this Entry
“Disturbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disturbing. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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