DISTURBANCE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does disturbance mean? 

• DISTURBANCE (noun)
  The noun DISTURBANCE has 7 senses:

1. activity that is a malfunction, intrusion, or interruption

2. an unhappy and worried mental state

3. a disorderly outburst or tumult

4. a noisy fight

5. the act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion

6. (psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness

7. electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication

  Familiarity information: DISTURBANCE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISTURBANCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Activity that is a malfunction, intrusion, or interruption

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

disturbance; perturbation

Context example:

there was a disturbance of neural function

Hypernyms ("disturbance" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disturbance"):

magnetic storm (a sudden disturbance of the earth's magnetic field; caused by emission of particles from the sun)

bother; fuss; hassle; trouble (an angry disturbance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An unhappy and worried mental state

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

disturbance; perturbation; upset

Context example:

she didn't realize the upset she caused me

Hypernyms ("disturbance" is a kind of...):

agitation (a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance)

Derivation:

disturb (move deeply)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A disorderly outburst or tumult

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

commotion; disruption; disturbance; flutter; hoo-ha; hoo-hah; hurly burly; kerfuffle; to-do

Context example:

they were amazed by the furious disturbance they had caused

Hypernyms ("disturbance" is a kind of...):

disorder (a disturbance of the peace or of public order)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disturbance"):

convulsion; turmoil; upheaval (a violent disturbance)

garboil; tumult; tumultuousness; uproar (a state of commotion and noise and confusion)

storm center; storm centre (a center of trouble or disturbance)

storm; tempest (a violent commotion or disturbance)

incident (a public disturbance)

earthquake (a disturbance that is extremely disruptive)

splash; stir (a prominent or sensational but short-lived news event)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A noisy fight

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

affray; disturbance; fray; ruffle

Hypernyms ("disturbance" is a kind of...):

combat; fight; fighting; scrap (the act of fighting; any contest or struggle)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("disturbance" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disturbance"):

disorganisation; disorganization (the disturbance of a systematic arrangement causing disorder and confusion)

disruption; perturbation (the act of causing disorder)

commotion; din; ruckus; ruction; rumpus; tumult (the act of making a noisy disturbance)

furor; furore (a sudden outburst (as of protest))

havoc; mayhem (violent and needless disturbance)

battle royal; melee; scrimmage (a noisy riotous fight)

agitation; excitement; hullabaloo; turmoil; upheaval (disturbance usually in protest)

outburst; tumultuous disturbance (a sudden violent disturbance)

rampage; violent disorder (violently angry and destructive behavior)

derangement; overthrow; upset (the act of disturbing the mind or body)

carnival; circus (a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment)

Derivation:

disturb (tamper with)

Sense 6

Meaning:

(psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

disturbance; folie; mental disorder; mental disturbance; psychological disorder

Hypernyms ("disturbance" is a kind of...):

disorder; upset (a physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning)

Domain category:

psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disturbance"):

dissociative disorder (dissociation so severe that the usually integrated functions of consciousness and perception of self break down)

neurosis; neuroticism; psychoneurosis (a mental or personality disturbance not attributable to any known neurological or organic dysfunction)

schizothymia (resembling schizophrenia but remaining within the bounds of normality)

affective disorder; emotional disorder; emotional disturbance; major affective disorder (any mental disorder not caused by detectable organic abnormalities of the brain and in which a major disturbance of emotions is predominant)

personality disorder (inflexible and maladaptive patterns of behavior)

folie a deux (the simultaneous occurrence of symptoms of a mental disorder (as delusions) in two persons who are closely related (as siblings or man and wife))

encopresis (involuntary defecation not attributable to physical defects or illness)

delusional disorder (any mental disorder in which delusions play a significant role)

delirium (a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion often accompanied by hallucinations)

conversion disorder; conversion hysteria; conversion reaction (a mental disorder characterized by the conversion of mental conflict into somatic forms (into paralysis or anesthesia having no apparent cause))

aberration (a disorder in one's mental state)

psychosomatic disorder (a mental disorder that causes somatic symptoms)

anxiety disorder (a cover term for a variety of mental disorders in which severe anxiety is a salient symptom)

Asperger's syndrome (a psychiatric disorder usually noted during early school years; characterized by impaired social relations and by repetitive patterns of behavior)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

disturbance; interference; noise

Hypernyms ("disturbance" is a kind of...):

trouble (an event causing distress or pain)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disturbance"):

clutter (unwanted echoes that interfere with the observation of signals on a radar screen)

background; background signal (extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured)

crosstalk; XT (the presence of an unwanted signal via an accidental coupling)

fadeout (a gradual temporary loss of a transmitted signal due to electrical disturbances)

jitter (small rapid variations in a waveform resulting from fluctuations in the voltage supply or mechanical vibrations or other sources)

atmospheric static; atmospherics; static (a crackling or hissing noise caused by electrical interference)

white noise (a noise produced by a stimulus containing all of the audible frequencies of vibration)

 Context examples 

Clinical signs and symptoms include endocrine deficiencies and visual disturbances.

(Childhood Craniopharyngioma, NCI Thesaurus)

A group of disorders affecting the development of movement and posture, often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, and behavior.

(Cerebral Palsy, NCI Thesaurus)

Some patients experience headaches, seizures, or visual and hearing disturbances.

(Cerebral Cavernous Malformation, NCI Thesaurus)

Signs and symptoms associated with disturbances within the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and meninges.

(Central Nervous System Signs and Symptoms, NCI Thesaurus)

A group of disorders present at birth that involve genetic defects leading to disturbances in carbohydrate, lipid, lysosomal storage or amino acid metabolism in the body.

(Congenital Metabolic Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

Exposure to this substance causes gastrointestinal disturbances and skin, eye and respiratory-tract irritation.

(Cupferron, NCI Thesaurus)

Testing the ability of a device's radiated emissions to cause another device to fail (i.e. electromagnetic disturbance for which the energy is transferred through space in the form of electromagnetic waves).

(Device Radiated Emissions Testing Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)

Tests performed to verify a device's level of protection (immunity) against magnetic disturbances while operating.

(Device Power Frequency Magnetic Field Testing Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)

A device-to-device or device-environment problem resulting from electromagnetic disturbances

(Device Electromagnetic Compatibility Problem Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)

Evaluating a device to detect malfunctions caused by electromagnetic interference (unwanted disturbances from an external force e.g. radios, cell phones, or unintentional disturbances of another device)

(Device Electromagnetic Compatibility Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)