Word of the Day: Perturb

perturb

per-turb / pər-tûrb

verb

1. to trouble or disturb; to make anxious or agitated

A woman is perturbed by what a man forgets—a man by what a woman remembers.

Arch Ward, 1896 – 1955

2. to throw into a state of chaos or confusion; to disorder; to cause a disturbance in the normal motion, cycle, etc.

The fact that we have been able to perturb the carbon cycle with our industrial revolution is evidence of how vulnerable we are – because when we destroy our environments, we destroy our food and energy supplies.

Annalee Newitz, 1969 –

3. in astronomy and physics, to cause a disturbance in the typical motion (orbit) of a planet, comet, etc.

Once you get more than one planet, the planets perturb each other gravitationally.

Frederic A. Rasio, 1964 –