disturbing
adjective
dis·turb·ing di-ˈstər-biŋ 
: causing feelings of worry, concern, or anxiety
disturbing news
a disturbing discovery
The next phase in which I had a part was even more disturbing, and infinitely more painful.
Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker disturbingly
di-ˈstər-biŋ-lē
adverb disturbingly high levels of pollution
a disturbingly familiar problem
… the texture of ordinary life and talk has taken on a disturbingly ambiguous quality … Jonathan Raban
Jonathan Raban 
Synonyms
- abrasive
- aggravating
- annoying
- bothersome
- carking
- chafing
- exasperating
- frustrating
- galling
- irksome
- irritating
- maddening
- nettlesome
- nettling
- peeving
- pesky
- pestiferous
- pestilent
- pestilential
- pesty
- plaguey
- plaguy
- rankling
- rebarbative
- riling
- vexatious
- vexing
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Word History
First Known Use
1594, in the meaning defined above
disturbing 1 of 2
adjective
1
as in annoying
causing annoyance a disturbing visit by the next-door neighbor while I was trying to study Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- annoying
- frustrating
- irritating
- aggravating
- maddening
- exasperating
- irksome
- vexing
- bothersome
- painful
- abrasive
- troubling
- vexatious
- nettling
- pestilential
- nettlesome
- riling
- pesky
- pestiferous
- rebarbative
- distractive
- chafing
- galling
- disquieting
- plaguey
- infuriating
- rankling
- carking
- pesty
- upsetting
- enraging
- discomforting
- peeving
- plaguy
- stressful
- displeasing
- troublesome
- pestilent
- angering
- distressing
- biting
- mischievous
- inconveniencing
- importunate
- worrisome
- offensive
- burdensome
- tiresome
- trying
- jarring
- importune
- bratty
- grating
- jangling
- thorny
- spiny
- brattish
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- delightful
- pleasing
2
as in embarrassing
causing embarrassment there was a disturbing silence as I struggled to remember her name Synonyms & Similar Words
- embarrassing
- uncomfortable
- disconcerting
- unpleasant
- confusing
- awkward
- discomfiting
- difficult
- unsettling
- troublesome
- humiliating
- disagreeable
- impossible
- inconvenient
- flustering
- intolerable
- degrading
- unwieldy
- mortifying
- demeaning
- humbling
- debasing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- convenient
- agreeable
- comfortable
- pleasing
3
as in unsettling
causing worry or anxiety a disturbing trend in the nation's energy consumption Synonyms & Similar Words
- unsettling
- troubling
- frightening
- upsetting
- frightening
- disquieting
- scary
- distressing
- worrisome
- shocking
- troublesome
- nasty
- perturbing
- scary
- terrifying
- discomforting
- horrible
- terrible
- disconcerting
- nagging
- discouraging
- alarming
- dismaying
- troublous
- chilling
- disheartening
- discomfiting
- horrifying
- demoralizing
- discomposing
- dire
- daunting
- dreadful
- dispiriting
- fearful
- intimidating
- dread
- forbidding
- harassing
- ghastly
- direful
- frightful
- formidable
- horrendous
- fearsome
- hair-raising
- persecutive
- persecutory
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- reassuring
- calming
- soothing
- settling
- comforting
- dreamy
- relaxing
- narcotic
- consoling
- sedative
- inviting
- quieting
- tranquilizing
- tranquillizing
- lulling
- pacifying
4
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings a disturbing pause in the normally smooth operation of the machinery Synonyms & Similar Words
- unsettling
- uneasy
- unnerving
- creepy
- tense
- disquieting
- anxious
- distressing
- agitating
- worrisome
- nervous
- distressful
- restless
- embarrassing
- fraught
- troublesome
- nerve-wracking
- hairy
- discouraging
- nerve-racking
- bothersome
- nail-biting
- awkward
- strained
- disheartening
- foreboding
- misgiving
- unrestful
- restive
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- peaceful
- quiet
- calming
- easy
- comfortable
- tranquil
- restful
- quieting
- pacific
disturbing
2 of 2verb
1
as in alarming
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy all that talk of war disturbed us Synonyms & Similar Words
- alarming
- distracting
- unsettling
- concerning
- worrying
- bothering
- haunting
- upsetting
- disquieting
- distressing
- discomforting
- angering
- annoying
- dismaying
- agitating
- perturbing
- irritating
- confusing
- plaguing
- embarrassing
- unhinging
- derailing
- undoing
- exasperating
- rattling
- aggravating
- ailing
- discouraging
- exercising
- disconcerting
- fussing
- vexing
- harassing
- discomposing
- frazzling
- distempering
- weirding out
- discomfiting
- unnerving
- flurrying
- jarring
- hagriding
- irking
- alaruming
- bugging
- freaking (out)
- galling
- mortifying
- nettling
- confounding
- grating
- disheartening
- pestering
- riling
- harrying
- dispiriting
- bedeviling
- chafing
- getting
- fretting
- piquing
- daunting
- demoralizing
- peeving
- putting off
- chivying
- putting out
- flustering
- nonplussing
- discountenancing
- chivvying
- shaking up
- nonplusing
- abashing
- fazing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- calming
- soothing
- quieting
- composing
- settling
- tranquilizing
- alleviating
- tranquillizing
- allaying
- assuaging
- pacifying
- mollifying
- appeasing
- placating
- conciliating
- propitiating
2
as in removing
to change the place or position of the items on her desk had been disturbed by someone Synonyms & Similar Words
- removing
- moving
- shifting
- relocating
- transferring
- transporting
- conveying
- dislocating
- displacing
- repositioning
- carrying
- transmitting
- transposing
- driving
- hauling
- altering
- varying
- replacing
- superseding
- reworking
- bearing
- budging
- modifying
- transplanting
- remodeling
- toting
- revising
- supplanting
- remaking
- lugging
- carting
- revamping
- refashioning
- redoing
- making over
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- setting
- freezing
- stabilizing
- securing
- fixing
- anchoring
- embedding
- imbedding
- mooring
- implanting
- rooting
- lodging
- entrenching
- intrenching
- engraining
- ingraining
3
as in disrupting
to undo the proper order or arrangement of her careful filing system is sure to be disturbed during the move Synonyms & Similar Words
- disrupting
- confusing
- upsetting
- shuffling
- disorganizing
- unsettling
- jumbling
- disarranging
- disjointing
- disordering
- deranging
- muddling
- scrambling
- dislocating
- snarling
- tousling
- mussing
- discomposing
- disarraying
- dishevelling
- disheveling
- tumbling
- perturbing
- hashing
- rumpling
- tangling
- embroiling
- mixing (up)
- cluttering
- entangling
- messing (up)
- agitating
- stirring (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- regulating
- disposing
- ranging
- ordering
- organizing
- arranging
- straightening (up)
- tidying
- adjusting
- aligning
- classifying
- marshaling
- lining
- arraying
- marshalling
- drawing up
- lining up
- alining
- codifying
- queueing
- systematizing
- fixing
- grooming
- methodizing
- making up
- queuing
- systemizing
- sprucing (up)
- unscrambling
4
as in bothering
to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation sorry to disturb you while you're working Synonyms & Similar Words
- bothering
- worrying
- troubling
- annoying
- bugging
- provoking
- harassing
- tormenting
- irritating
- pestering
- distressing
- exasperating
- angering
- aggravating
- chivying
- vexing
- intruding (upon)
- infuriating
- chivvying
- enraging
- gnawing
- maddening
- inconveniencing
- perturbing
- plaguing
- galling
- grating
- invading
- bedeviling
- roiling
- fretting
- irking
- persecuting
- riling
- afflicting
- outraging
- dogging
- rasping
- hassling
- getting
- chafing
- antagonizing
- nettling
- besetting
- rankling
- agitating
- dunning
- trespassing
- besieging
- peeving
- putting out
- encroaching
- inflaming
- devilling
- obtruding
- piquing
- deviling
- incensing
- infringing
- beleaguering
- butting in
- enflaming
- cutting in (on)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- ignoring
- disregarding
- forgetting
- leaving
- gratifying
- disarming
- satisfying
- pleasing
- comforting
- obliging
- slighting
- appeasing
- placating
- delighting
- conciliating
- consoling
- mollifying
- gladdening
- contenting
5
as in troubling
to cause discomfort to or trouble for please do not disturb yourself—I'll get my own drink Synonyms & Similar Words
- troubling
- weighing
- bothering
- upsetting
- inconveniencing
- disobliging
- annoying
- discommoding
- incommoding
- provoking
- angering
- putting out
- aggravating
- exasperating
- vexing
- hindering
- impeding
- getting
- obstructing
- hampering
- burdening
- inhibiting
- perturbing
- irking
- bugging
- encumbering
- handicapping
- galling
- nettling
- saddling
- holding back
- shackling
- hobbling
- riling
- grating
- tying up
- hamstringing
- fettering
- manacling
- chafing
- inflaming
- piquing
- agitating
- holding up
- peeving
- trammelling
- trammeling
- interfering (with)
- tieing up
- enflaming
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- assisting
- aiding
- favoring
- obliging
- helping
- accommodating
- gratifying
- facilitating
- abetting
- satisfying
- comforting
- pleasing
- disarming
- smoothing
- easing
- consoling
- delighting
- appeasing
- pacifying
- mollifying
- placating
- conciliating
- gladdening
- contenting
- nassers
- nassiriyah
- Nast
- nastaliq
- nastic
- nastic movement
- nastier
- nasties
- nastiest
- nastilier
- nastiliest
- nastily
- nastiness
- nastinesses
- new yorker
- New Yorkese
- New Zealand
- New Zealand beech
- New Zealand birch
- New Zealand blue cod
- New Zealand bramble
- New Zealand broom
- New Zealand bur
- New Zealand cedar
- New Zealand cotton