Meanings
present singular third person disrupts · participle present disrupting · participle past disrupted · past disrupted
- transitiveTo interrupt or impede.
Work on the tunnel was disrupted by a strike.
4 more examples
The Glaswegians bore good-humouredly the mishaps which occasionally disrupted the services during the first month.
1961 February, “Talking of Trains: The Glasgow debacle”, in Trains Illustrated, page 66Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children’s brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34In the Canadian and Alaskan Arctic region, where 2°C warming has already occurred since 1950, the loss of coastal sea ice and permafrost is disrupting traditional Inuit hunting routines.
2017, Anthony J. McMichael, Alistair Woodward, Cameron Muir, Climate Change and the Health of Nations, →ISBN, page 51The scientific instruments of the day recorded rapid fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field, as powerful electrical currents flowed through the upper atmosphere. Ships' logs noted observations of the northern lights as far south as the Caribbean, and telegraph systems across the world were disrupted as electrical currents were induced in the copper lines.
2023 November 15, Prof. Jim Wild, “This train was delayed because of bad weather in space”, in RAIL, number 996, page 30 - transitiveTo improve a product or service in ways that displace an established one and surprise the market.
The internet makes it easier for leaner businesses to disrupt the larger and more unwieldy ones.
comparative more disrupt · superlative most disrupt
- obsoleteTorn off or torn asunder; severed; disrupted.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo throw into confusion or disorder.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian разстройвам, прекъсвам
- разстройвам (razstrojvam)to throw into confusion or disorder
- прекъсвам (prekăsvam)to interrupt or impede something
- разкъсвам (razkăsvam)to interrupt or impede something
Chinese Mandarin 破壞 /破坏
- 破壞 /破坏 (pòhuài)to throw into confusion or disorder
Dutch verstoren, onderbreken
- verstorento throw into confusion or disorder
- onderbrekento interrupt or impede something
- hinderento interrupt or impede something
Finnish häiritä, häiritä
- häiritäto throw into confusion or disorder
- häiritäto interrupt or impede something
French perturber, déranger
- perturberto throw into confusion or disorder
- dérangerto throw into confusion or disorder
- interrompreto interrupt or impede something
- disrupterto improve a product or service in ways that displace an established one and surprise the market
German durcheinander bringen, stören
- durcheinander bringento throw into confusion or disorder
- störento throw into confusion or disorder
- unterbrechento interrupt or impede something
- hindernto interrupt or impede something
Hungarian bomlaszt, zülleszt
- bomlasztto throw into confusion or disorder
- züllesztto throw into confusion or disorder
- zavart keltto throw into confusion or disorder
- megakasztto interrupt or impede something
Italian disturbare, interrompere
- disturbareto throw into confusion or disorder
- interrompereto interrupt or impede something
- impedireto interrupt or impede something
- rimpiazzareto improve a product or service in ways that displace an established one and surprise the market
Latvian traucēt, traucēt
- traucētto throw into confusion or disorder
- traucētto interrupt or impede something
Māori whakapōnānā, whakatōhenehene
- whakapōnānāto throw into confusion or disorder
- whakatōheneheneto throw into confusion or disorder
- whakapōnānāto interrupt or impede something
Polish zaburzać, zaburzyć
- zaburzaćto interrupt or impede something
- zaburzyćto interrupt or impede something
Portuguese interromper, impedir
- interromperto interrupt or impede something
- impedirto interrupt or impede something
- causar rupturato interrupt or impede something
Romanian perturba, întrerupe
- perturbato throw into confusion or disorder
- întrerupeto interrupt or impede something
Spanish trastornar, trastrocar
- trastornarto throw into confusion or disorder
- trastrocarto throw into confusion or disorder
- disrumpirto throw into confusion or disorder
- disrumpirto interrupt or impede something
- disrumpirto improve a product or service in ways that displace an established one and surprise the market
Vietnamese làm phiền, ngán đường
- làm phiềnto interrupt or impede something
- ngán đườngto interrupt or impede something
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with disrupt
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
disrupt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disrupt
“disrupt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disrupt. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “disrupt,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disrupt.
Source: disrupt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.