1
as in commotions
a state of noisy, confused activity
went to investigate the disturbance outside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disruptions
an act or instance of the order of things being disturbed
caused a disturbance in the carefully ordered proceedings
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in harassments
the act of making unwelcome intrusions upon another
the assistant apologized for the disturbance and got straight to the point
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disturbances
Mexico expects millions of international visitors during the World Cup, raising concerns around crowd control, unauthorized drone activity, and rapid response to disturbances.
—
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
They’ve been known to cause electromagnetic disturbances on the earth, such as with radio and satellite communications and power line transmissions.
—Mary Wasson, Austin American Statesman, 5 Feb. 2026
The space weather center issued a G1 geomagnetic storm watch for a heightened risk of minor disturbances to Earth's magnetic field from the portion of the field that may reach the Earth.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
After Neihardt told him about the disturbances at Skyrim and his desire to investigate them properly, Richards offered to assemble a like-minded group of individuals to help him.
—Shannon Taggart, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
Sleep disturbances While marijuana’s mild sedating and relaxing effects can sometimes help people who have difficulty falling asleep, experts say there are several important things to consider before using it as a sleep aid.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Neighbors of that business said Flame 13 didn't engage with the community and had frequent noise disturbances.
—Eva Wen, jsonline.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Specifically, the study reviewed records of over 130,000 adults who used melatonin for needs related to insomnia or sleep disturbances and found a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with heart failure leading to hospitalization.
—Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Kp is an index used to indicate the severity of the global magnetic disturbances in near-Earth space, NOAA said.
—Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
They’ve been known to cause electromagnetic disturbances on the earth, such as with radio and satellite communications and power line transmissions.
—Mary Wasson, Austin American Statesman, 5 Feb. 2026
The space weather center issued a G1 geomagnetic storm watch for a heightened risk of minor disturbances to Earth's magnetic field from the portion of the field that may reach the Earth.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
After Neihardt told him about the disturbances at Skyrim and his desire to investigate them properly, Richards offered to assemble a like-minded group of individuals to help him.
—Shannon Taggart, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
Sleep disturbances While marijuana’s mild sedating and relaxing effects can sometimes help people who have difficulty falling asleep, experts say there are several important things to consider before using it as a sleep aid.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Neighbors of that business said Flame 13 didn't engage with the community and had frequent noise disturbances.
—Eva Wen, jsonline.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Specifically, the study reviewed records of over 130,000 adults who used melatonin for needs related to insomnia or sleep disturbances and found a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with heart failure leading to hospitalization.
—Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Kp is an index used to indicate the severity of the global magnetic disturbances in near-Earth space, NOAA said.
—Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disturbances
Noun
-
Over the past year, men’s ski jumping has been marred by Norway’s cheating scandal and more recent genital manipulation rumors, which has become one of the early commotions of the Milano-Cortina Games.—
Sara Germano,
Sportico.com,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Back home, the Elite 300 doubles as a fast 10ms UPS, offering seamless backup during storm outages or bushfire season disruptions.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Transportation disruptions, labor shortages, extreme weather and economic stress have all caused temporary shortages and rising prices.—
Joe Dymek,
Baltimore Sun,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The everyday realities of life under the occupation, including the hassles and harassments of bureaucratic delays and security checkpoints, can suddenly become matters of life and death.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
About two couples, connected and dependent on one another, raising their kids alongside each other, facing the same turmoils, the same existential questions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Mayer and Strong offer a broad pop-history lesson, in which the same tensions and turmoils churn on and on in their terrible cycle throughout the decades; the only thing that’s changed are the aesthetics.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Noun
-
But even those noises faded into nothing once the wooden shutters were closed at turndown, and the soft whir of the air conditioning took over.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The noises also changed each night, meaning participants consistently slept under different conditions.—
Kaan Ozcan,
NBC news,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In 2020 and 2021, storms hit the Powers’ Yukon home.—
J.C. Hallman,
Oklahoman,
10 Feb. 2026
-
With these statistical corrections, researchers can more accurately predict how energy behaves in chaotic environments, such as during the formation of severe storms.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disturbances.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disturbances. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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