from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. The act of disturbing.
- n. The condition of being disturbed: "The forest . . . is in various stages of disturbance. Only the biggest trees . . . have been left standing” ( Alex Shoumatoff).
- n. Something that disturbs, as a commotion, scuffle, or public tumult.
- n. Mental or emotional unbalance or disorder.
- n. A variation in normal wind conditions.
- n. Geology Folding or faulting that affects a relatively large area.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. The act of disturbing, being disturbed
- n. Something that disturbs
- n. An interruption of that which is normal or regular.
- n. A serious mental imbalance or illness.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. An interruption of a state of peace or quiet; derangement of the regular course of things; disquiet; disorder
- n. Confusion of the mind; agitation of the feelings; perplexity; uneasiness.
- n. Violent agitation in the body politic; public commotion; tumult.
- n. The hindering or disquieting of a person in the lawful and peaceable enjoyment of his right; the interruption of a right.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Interruption of arrangement or order; violent change; derangement: as, a disturbance of the electric current.
- n. An interruption of thought or conversation; as, to read without disturbance.
- n. A violent interruption of the peace; a violent stir or excitement tending to or manifested in a breach of the peace; a tumult; an uproar; in a more extended sense, public disorder; agitation in the body politic.
- n. Emotion or disorder of the mind; agitation; perturbation; confusion: as, the merchant received the news of his losses without apparent disturbance.
- n. In law, the wrongful obstruction of the owner of an incorporeal hereditament in its exercise or enjoyment: as, the disturbance of a franchise, of common, of ways, or of tenure.
- n. In astronomy, same as perturbation; the deviation of a body from the elliptical orbit it would otherwise pursue, caused by the attraction of bodies other than the primary.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. (psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness
- n. activity that is a malfunction, intrusion, or interruption
- n. a disorderly outburst or tumult
- n. the act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion
- n. an unhappy and worried mental state
- n. a noisy fight
- n. electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication
A great deal of that which we call disturbance -- a great deal of the upset in what have seemed to be established institutions -- is really but the surface indication of something approaching a regeneration.
This for me was a unique experience, as my ability to sleep through any kind of noisy disturbance is legendary.
I mean, play on the paintball fields where the disturbance is contained ... not in where hunters are.
Tropical Update: What's left of Danny rained on New England while the latest disturbance is still off the Antilles.
If the disturbance is greater than 0.25 acres of wetlands or the bridge requires a span greater than 100 feet, an Individual Permit is required.
In accordance with N.J.A.C. 7: 7E et sq., up to one acre of disturbance is permitted under the various Statewide General Permits.
Political disturbance is out the window too, apparently, as Triumph of the Will and Birth of a Nation are MIA.
This document implies such civil disturbance is likely to become more widespread. on January 11, 2009 at 6: 10 pm | Reply Fed up
But, in our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression.
In both cases, the disturbance is persistent: it does not disappear immediately, but travels away from its point of origin and often, though certainly not always, maintains a consistent shape.