perturb vs disturb
Definitions
verb
- disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed
- cause a celestial body to deviate from a theoretically regular orbital motion, especially as a result of interposed or extraordinary gravitational pull
- throw into great confusion or disorder
- disturb or interfere with the usual path of an electron or atom
Examples
This 31-day period of perturbations probably has a great deal more to do with things that go bump in the night than many care to admit in front of their friends and family.
What I find highly ironic and, indeed, perturbing, is that U.S. trade laws have in their application proven much more effective in inhibiting legitimate, cross-border, long-standing supplier-customer transactions carried on within a Canada-U.S. free trade environment than they have in dealing with these "dump and jump" boatloads of predatory imports.
I was perturbed at his apparent immaturity.
Definitions
verb
- move deeply
- tamper with
- destroy the peace or tranquility of
- change the arrangement or position of
- damage as if by shaking or jarring
Examples
Hannah's remembrances of things past, however, are sometimes skewed by subtle dissonances and a sense of anxiety that disturb the apparent placidity of his picture-perfect world.
I'm sorry to disturb you, but can I talk to you for a moment?
Don't disturb the patient's wounds by moving him too rapidly!
