Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Affected with mental or emotional instability: Describes a state of being mentally unwell, experiencing psychological distress, or having a condition that impairs normal functioning.
   • Anxious, troubled, or unsettled: Refers to a feeling of worry, unease, or emotional distress.
   • Interrupted or disordered: Indicates that the normal state, arrangement, or peace of something has been disrupted or changed.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective (Mental/Emotional State):
  • The patient was deeply disturbed and required professional care.
  • She felt disturbed by the violent images in the news.
• Adjective (Anxious/Troubled):
  • He had a disturbed look on his face after hearing the bad news.
  • The constant noise left her feeling disturbed and unable to concentrate.
• Adjective (Interrupted/Disordered):
  • The crime scene was left disturbed.
  • The archaeologist noted the disturbed soil, indicating possible previous excavation.

Advanced Usage

• "emotionally disturbed": A clinical or descriptive term for someone experiencing significant emotional or behavioral problems.
  • The school has a program for emotionally disturbed youth.
• "disturbed sleep": Sleep that is not restful due to interruptions, nightmares, or anxiety.
  • The stress led to a night of disturbed sleep.

Variants and Related Words

• Disturb (verb): To interrupt the quiet, rest, peace, or order of; to agitate mentally or emotionally.
  • Please do not disturb the meeting.
  • The news disturbed him greatly.
• Disturbing (adjective): Causing anxiety, unease, or worry; unsettling.
  • It was a disturbing film with a violent theme.
• Disturbance (noun): An interruption of a state of peace or quiet; a disruption.
  • The loud music created a disturbance in the neighborhood.

Synonyms

• Troubled: Anxious or distressed.
• Unsettled: Not calm or stable; disturbed.
• Agitated: Feeling or appearing troubled or nervous.
• Disordered: Not arranged in order; untidy.

Related Phrases

• Deeply disturbed: Very seriously troubled or upset.
  • The community was deeply disturbed by the tragedy.
• Mentally disturbed: Having a psychological or psychiatric disorder.
  • The defense argued the defendant was mentally disturbed at the time of the crime.

Idioms

• A disturbed mind: A mind that is not psychologically healthy or stable.
  • The novel explores the thoughts of a disturbed mind.
• To be disturbed by something: To be made to feel anxious or upset by something.
  • She was profoundly disturbed by his accusations.

Adjective

1. affected with madness or insanity
   • a man who had gone mad
2. emotionally unstable and having difficulty coping with personal relationships
3. afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
   • too upset to say anything
   • spent many disquieted moments
   • distressed about her son's leaving home
   • lapsed into disturbed sleep
   • worried parents
   • a worried frown
   • one last worried check of the sleeping children
4. having the place or position changed
   • the disturbed books and papers on her desk
   • disturbed grass showed where the horse had passed