2 meanings
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1 —as in:
she was perturbed
Definition
to disturb in mind or make uneasy- She is not perturbed by attacks from a hostile press.
perturbed = disturbed or made uneasy
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!William Shakespeare -- Hamlet
- She was perturbed by the criticism, but resolved to continue.
- I walked up and down my room hastily and perturbed, while my imagination conjured up a thousand images to torment and sting me.Mary Shelley -- Frankenstein
- Customers became perturbed by the high maintenance expenses.
- Fundamental Islamicists threaten to perturb the social order in Algeria and Egypt
- Patel did not seem perturbed.Amy Tan -- The Bonesetter's Daughter
- ...senses her feelings, dimly, with perturbation.Tennessee Williams -- The Glass Menagerie
- When Don Quixote heard this his amazement was redoubled and his perturbation grew greater than ever,Miguel de Cervantes -- Don Quixote
- I was glad for Zach (although at the same time slightly perturbed that Beanie was bearing her troubles alone).Melody Carlson -- Becoming Me
perturbed = disturbed or made uneasy
perturbation = uneasiness
perturbation = disturbance of mind
perturbed = disturbed
2 —
perturbation of the orbit
Definition
physics or astronomy: a secondary influence on a system that causes it to deviate slightly- The planet, Neptune, was discovered after its existence was predicted by perturbations in Uranus' orbit.
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- If the perturbations are small, the procedure should work.
- One has to study the evolution of perturbations over time to find out if the configuration is stable.
- A great perturbation in nature,—to receive at once the benefit of sleep, and do the effects of watching—William Shakespeare -- Macbeth
- from study and perturbation of the brainWilliam Shakespeare -- Henry IV, Part 2
- damped stochastic perturbations
- What qualifying considerations allayed his perturbations?James Joyce -- Ulysses
- The Major thought he recognized the piano, though, with the picture over it, as it used to be in former days, and his perturbations were renewed.William Makepeace Thackeray -- Vanity Fair
- Also, there were comings and goings, and the erstwhile placid atmosphere of the cabin was vexed with strange perturbations and unrest.Jack London -- White Fang
- Then you looked for perturbations that might indicate other planets.John Ringo -- Live Free or Die
perturbations = a secondary influence on a system that causes it to deviate slightly
perturbation = deviation (from the natural course of things)
perturbation = disturbance (of the mind)
Less commonly:
More rarely, perturbation can be used in the more general sense meaning: to disturb in mind or make uneasy -- as when Jane Austen wrote: "the perturbation of Elizabeth's feelings was at every moment increasing."