verb

perturb

Perturb (verb) means to cause (something) to be physically disordered or disturbed; to cause confusion.

verb

To cause (something) to be physically disordered or disturbed; to cause confusion.

To disturb (someone, their mind, etc.) mentally; to bother, trouble, upset.

Of a celestial body: to modify the motion or orbit of (another celestial body) by exerting a gravitational force; hence (physics), to slightly modify (the motion of an object).

To slightly modify (a set of equations or their solutions), producing deviations from a simple, easily solvable problem, in order to find an approximate solution to a problem that is more difficult to solve or otherwise unsolvable.

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Etymology

From Late Middle English perturben (“to disturb (someone) mentally, disquiet; to cause disorder to (something), confuse; to hinder (something)”), from Old French perturber, and from its etymon Latin perturbāre, the present active infinitive of perturbō (“to confuse; to alarm, disturb, trouble, perturb”), from per- (intensifying prefix) + turbō (“to agitate, disturb, unsettle, perturb; to upset”) (from turba (“disorder, disturbance, turmoil”) (possibly from Ancient Greek τῠ́ρβη (tŭ́rbē, “confusion, disorder, tumult”), either from Pre-Greek, or Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- (“to agitate, stir up; to urge on, propel”)) + -ō (suffix forming infinitives of regular first-conjugation verbs)).

Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of perturb?

"perturb" (verb) means to cause (something) to be physically disordered or disturbed; to cause confusion.

What are the different meanings of perturb?

"perturb" has 3 main meanings: 1. To cause (something) to be physically disordered or disturbed; to cause confusion; 2. To disturb (someone, their mind, etc.) mentally; to bother, trouble, upset; 3. Of a celestial body: to modify the motion or orbit of (another celestial body) by exerting a gravitational force; hence (physics), to slightly modify (the motion of an object).