as in worried
feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty
a perturbed look betrayed her nervousness at her first job interview
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in disturbed
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
the caller's strange remark perturbed me enough to keep me awake that night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of perturbed
Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 19 Mar. 2025
Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
The mayor was less perturbed, suggesting that throwing a snowball should not result in criminal charges.
—New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Demi herself looks perturbed but moves on quickly.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
But on the other hand, Amir and Jahan do, in fact, act strangely enough — including walking around at night, and humming in cartoonishly sinister ways — that even the most rational and accepting observers would be rightly perturbed.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026
While happy with the win, head coach Tommy Lloyd seemed perturbed by the lack of Arizona fans in the stands.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2026
At a bar not far from Aghayeva’s dorm, a music-education scholar was perturbed, despite having been born in California.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
We're not perturbed by the stock's back-to-back weak sessions following the earnings report .
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
The simulations also show that Chrysalis would have perturbed Iapetus's orbit, leading to its high inclination.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Dickinson appeared somewhere between perturbed and seething.
—Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 19 Mar. 2025
Verb
Brubaker, still perturbed about Wolcott calling time, immediately yelled at Wolcott and had to be calmed down by Susac.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
The mayor was less perturbed, suggesting that throwing a snowball should not result in criminal charges.
—New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Demi herself looks perturbed but moves on quickly.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
But on the other hand, Amir and Jahan do, in fact, act strangely enough — including walking around at night, and humming in cartoonishly sinister ways — that even the most rational and accepting observers would be rightly perturbed.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026
While happy with the win, head coach Tommy Lloyd seemed perturbed by the lack of Arizona fans in the stands.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2026
At a bar not far from Aghayeva’s dorm, a music-education scholar was perturbed, despite having been born in California.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
We're not perturbed by the stock's back-to-back weak sessions following the earnings report .
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
The simulations also show that Chrysalis would have perturbed Iapetus's orbit, leading to its high inclination.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perturbed
Adjective
-
So how worried should these teams be?—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
People that maybe have a more precarious position in the industry and are worried and see AI as a threat — which is absolutely valid — and younger people, younger actors and musicians.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Blueberry plants also have a shallow root system that can be disturbed by planting annuals and is subject to competition from surrounding plants for water and nutrients.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The radiation from the flares reached Earth quickly and disturbed the ionosphere, the upper atmospheric layer that carries many radio and navigation signals.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Brooklyn grandmom was upset that the women were allowing their dogs to defecate in an empty lot next to her property, her son told the Daily News at the time.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
My mom was very upset that the inheritance was not divided up equally and asked me several times why my portion would be so much larger.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Like so many in her field, The Ohio State University oncologist Ning Jin is alarmed by the number of patients in their 30s and 40s with late-stage cancer in their lower digestive tract.—
Yuki Noguchi,
NPR,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The casual acknowledgement of brushing off offers of bribes alarmed some Republican activists, who will endorse a candidate for governor at their state convention on May 16.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In the draft room, Bisciotti looked nervous as the pick approached, worried another team — or even his own GM — might snag Randall.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Some nervous Democrats and their allies worry that language could thwart installation of a Democratic majority in the next Congress.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Who never bothered to delete the erroneous post.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
With Minnesota viewing them as soft, the Nuggets hardly seem bothered by the criticism.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The play is about Sarah, an anxious young woman living a double life.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
-
That’s the blunt reality facing Senate Majority Leader John Thune as Republicans grow increasingly anxious about the end-game for one of the most consequential — and politically combustible — confirmation fights in recent memory.—
Phil Mattingly,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Portland couldn’t figure out how to pass off help assignments to deal with the downhill speed of San Antonio’s guards and wings, with the Blazers’ centers distracted on the perimeter.—
Christian Clark,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The report also indicated the driver of the black truck was not suspected of being on drugs or alcohol and was not distracted when the crash happened.—
Steve Maugeri,
CBS News,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perturbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perturbed. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
