disturbance

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a disorderly outburst or tumult

   they were amazed by the furious disturbance they had caused

2. 2
   noun

   an unhappy and worried mental state

   there was too much anger and disturbance

3. 3
   noun

   Something that disturbs.

   That guy causes a lot of trouble, you know, he’s such a disturbance.

4. 4
   noun

   An interruption of that which is normal or regular.

   Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.

5. 5
   noun

   the act of disturbing something or someone

6. 6
   noun

   a noisy fight

7. 7
   noun

   activity that is a malfunction, intrusion, or interruption

8. 8
   noun

   electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication

Etymology

From Middle English disturbaunce, from Old French destorbance, destourbance, from destourber (“disturb”), from Latin disturbō. By surface analysis, disturb + -ance.