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
- Ampleforth marched clumsily out between the guards, his face vaguely perturbed, but uncomprehending.George Orwell -- 1984
- Tom was evidently perturbed at Daisy's running around alone, for on the following Saturday night he came with her to Gatsby's party.F. Scott Fitzgerald -- The Great Gatsby
- Before I left him I remembered what Jonathan put in his diary of the Professor's perturbation at reading something in an evening paper at the station at Exeter, so, seeing that Dr. Seward keeps his newspapers, I borrowed the files of 'The Westminster Gazette' and 'The Pall Mall Gazette' and took them to my room.Bram Stoker -- Dracula
- Patel did not seem perturbed.Amy Tan -- The Bonesetter's Daughter
perturbed = disturbed
perturbed = disturbed
perturbation = uneasiness
perturbed = disturbed or made uneasy
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."