disturbed
UK: dɪˈstɜːbd | US: dɪˈstɜːrbd
adj. emotionally or mentally unsettled
adj. interrupted or interfered with
vt. (past tense of disturb) to break the peace or order of
disturbed = dis<apart> + turb<agitate> + ed<past participle suffix>
- dis-: A Latin prefix meaning "apart" or "negation," often indicating reversal or disruption.
- turb: From Latin turbare, meaning "to agitate" or "throw into confusion."
- -ed: A suffix marking the past tense or past participle form of verbs.
Etymology Origin:
The word disturbed traces back to Latin disturbare ("to throw into disorder"), combining dis- (intensifying negation) and turbare ("to stir up"). The root turb survives in modern words like turbulent and perturb, consistently conveying agitation. Over time, disturbed evolved to describe both physical disruption (e.g., "disturbed sleep") and psychological unease (e.g., "disturbed mind"), reflecting its dual emphasis on chaos and emotional imbalance.
The loud noise disturbed the peaceful atmosphere of the library.
She felt deeply disturbed after watching the horror movie.
Archaeologists carefully examined the disturbed soil for artifacts.
His disturbed behavior raised concerns among his friends.
The protest disturbed the usual flow of traffic downtown.