disruptive

adjective

dis·​rup·​tive dis-ˈrəp-tiv 

: disrupting or tending to disrupt some process, activity, condition, etc. : causing or tending to cause disruption

a disruptive weather pattern

It is hoped that, if the child learns that disruptive behavior brings no rewards, his tantrums will diminish and perhaps stop.

—Susan Sheehan

In recent years, airlines began to carry plastic handcuffs as a way to restrain disruptive passengers.

—Erik Holm

Other teammates marvel at how easily he morphs from a mild-mannered family man in the locker room into a disruptive force on the field.

—Jefri Chadiha

disruptively adverb

acting disruptively

disruptiveness noun

… the disruptiveness of climatic change will depend strongly on the rate of change.

—Roger Revelle

Examples of disruptive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Any new disruptive technology comes with costs and benefits and growing pains, but AI seems uniquely unpopular for a new tool with so much promise. —Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026

For the global engineering industry, this is the most disruptive supply-side event since the 1970s oil crises – and in several disciplines, the most disruptive in living memory. —Interesting Engineering, 30 Apr. 2026

Please refrain from using Bluetooth speakers and anything else that would be disruptive to residents. —Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026

Peter Poe is a transgender man with a beard, and said using a women's restroom would be disruptive. —ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disruptive

• eruptive

Medical Definition

disruptive

adjective

dis·​rup·​tive dis-ˈrəp-tiv 

: characterized by psychologically disorganized behavior

a confused, incoherent, and disruptive patient in the manic phase