What does perturb mean?
Word: Perturb
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Perturb means to make someone feel worried or upset.
Synonyms: disturb, unsettle
Antonyms: reassure
How do you spell perturb?
Syllables: per - turb
Tricky part: The second syllable is spelt urb, as in suburb. The sound could also be spelt er or ir, which is how perterb and pertirb turn up in answer books.
Watch out for: perterb, pertirb
Memory tip: Turbulent water and this verb share a Latin root, and both keep the chunk turb.
Perturb in a sentence
Example 1: The sudden change in the exam timetable did not seem to perturb Anjali at all.
Example 2: It perturbed my mother that I had skipped breakfast again.
Example 3: Three dropped catches in a row began to perturb the captain.
Fun Fact
Astronomers use this verb too. They noticed that something seemed to perturb the orbit of Uranus, and the search for the cause led to the discovery of Neptune in 1846.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Although the sudden thunderstorm stopped play for an hour, it did not purturb our team, who practised their fielding indoors.
a) purturb
b) practised
c) thunderstorm
d) fielding
Show answer
a) purturb. The word opens with per, the same as perhaps.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Even a noisy crowd could not eubtprr the young chess player as she planned her next move.
a) pertain
b) perform
c) perturb
d) perplex
Show answer
c) perturb. A noisy crowd might try to upset a player, and these letters, with their b and u, spell that verb alone.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word:
1. perturb 2. itinery 3. reservior 4. labrynth
a) to fill someone with unease
b) a plan of the stops on a trip
c) a large lake that stores water
d) a maze of winding paths
Show answer
a) to fill someone with unease. Look at the order of the letters: reservoir and labyrinth have theirs muddled, and itinerary has lost a whole syllable.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word perturb as used in the sentence:
A surprise test can perturb even the most cheerful of students.
a) bother
b) trouble
c) calm
d) alarm
Show answer
c) calm. To calm someone is to take the worry away.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which pupil looks perturbed?
a) one laughing with friends over a plate of samosas
b) one humming a tune while walking to the bus
c) one pacing the corridor, frowning at a result sheet
d) one reading quietly under a shady neem tree
Show answer
c) one pacing the corridor, frowning at a result sheet
2. Someone who is not easily perturbed is best described as ____
a) unruffled
b) tearful
c) jittery
d) restless
Show answer
a) unruffled
