"perturb" in the verb sense

1. perturb, unhinge, disquiet, trouble, cark, distract, disorder

disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed

"She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill"

2. perturb

disturb or interfere with the usual path of an electron or atom

"The electrons were perturbed by the passing ion"

3. perturb

cause a celestial body to deviate from a theoretically regular orbital motion, especially as a result of interposed or extraordinary gravitational pull

"The orbits of these stars were perturbed by the passings of a comet"

4. perturb, derange, throw out of kilter

throw into great confusion or disorder

"Fundamentalists threaten to perturb the social order"

Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)

Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.

View WordNet® License