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verb

perturb

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Perturb (verb) means to throw something into physical disorder or confusion.

verb
1
To throw something into physical disorder or confusion.
2
To upset or worry someone, troubling their mind.
3
(physics) To alter the path of a planet or other object slightly, through the gravitational pull of another body.
4
(mathematics) To adjust a set of equations slightly away from a simple, solvable case, in order to work out an approximate answer to a harder problem.
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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)).

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Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of perturb?
"perturb" (verb) means to throw something into physical disorder or confusion.
What is another word for perturb?
Other words for "perturb" include disquiet, derange, cark, trouble, distract, disorder.
What is the opposite of perturb?
Opposites of "perturb" include console, cheer, comfort, solace, soothe.
What are the different meanings of perturb?
"perturb" has 3 main meanings: 1. To throw something into physical disorder or confusion; 2. To upset or worry someone, troubling their mind; 3. (physics) To alter the path of a planet or other object slightly, through the gravitational pull of another body.

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Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · etymology from Wiktionary