Adjective: perturbed pu(r)'turbd Usage: informal
- In a state of nervous agitation
"The more he loses, the more perturbed he gets"; - flustered [informal], hot and bothered [informal], rattled [informal] Verb: perturb pu(r)'turb- 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"; - unhinge, disquiet, trouble, cark, distract, disorder - Disturb or interfere with the usual path of an electron or atom
"The electrons were perturbed by the passing ion" - 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" - Throw into great confusion or disorder
"Fundamentalists threaten to perturb the social order"; - derange, throw out of kilter
See also: discomposed Type of: deviate, disarray, disorder, disturb, trouble, upset Encyclopedia: Perturb |