| verb | 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” |
| verb | disturb or interfere with the usual path of an electron or atom “The electrons were perturbed by the passing ion” |
| verb | 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” |
| verb | throw into great confusion or disorder “Fundamental Islamicists threaten to perturb the social order in Algeria and Egypt” |
| adjective | causing distress or worry or anxiety “distressing (or disturbing) news” |
| perturbation | noun | an unhappy and worried mental state |
| disquiet | noun | the trait of seeming ill at ease |
| trouble | noun | a strong feeling of anxiety |
| distraction | noun | mental turmoil |
| derangement | noun | the act of disturbing the mind or body |
| distressfulness | noun | the quality of arousing fear or distress |