Search Result for "perturb": 
Wordnet 3.0

VERB (4)

1. disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed;
- Example: "She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill"
[syn: perturb, unhinge, disquiet, trouble, cark, distract, disorder]

2. disturb or interfere with the usual path of an electron or atom;
- Example: "The electrons were perturbed by the passing ion"

3. cause a celestial body to deviate from a theoretically regular orbital motion, especially as a result of interposed or extraordinary gravitational pull;
- Example: "The orbits of these stars were perturbed by the passings of a comet"

4. throw into great confusion or disorder;
- Example: "Fundamental Islamicists threaten to perturb the social order in Algeria and Egypt"
[syn: perturb, derange, throw out of kilter]



The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Perturb \Per*turb"\, v. t. [L. perturbare, perturbatum; per +
   turbare to disturb, fr. turba a disorder: cf. OF. perturber.
   See Per-, and Turbid.]
   1. To disturb; to agitate; to vex; to trouble; to disquiet.
      [1913 Webster]

            Ye that . . . perturb so my feast with crying.
                                                  --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To disorder; to confuse. [R.] --Sir T. Browne.
      [1913 Webster]


WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

perturb
    v 1: 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" [syn: perturb, unhinge,
         disquiet, trouble, cark, distract, disorder]
    2: disturb or interfere with the usual path of an electron or
       atom; "The electrons were perturbed by the passing ion"
    3: 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"
    4: throw into great confusion or disorder; "Fundamental
       Islamicists threaten to perturb the social order in Algeria
       and Egypt" [syn: perturb, derange, throw out of kilter]