1
as in to break
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
an earthquake that had disrupted the elevated highway in several places
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to disturb
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
the arrival of a baby in the household would totally disrupt their established routine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disrupt
Recently, 30-second system outages at Newark Airport's air traffic control tower disrupted communication with aircraft, blanked out controllers' screens, and slowed air traffic.
—
Kevin Sabet, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
This time, though, he’s being fired, which he’s told by a supervisor who sneaks up and screams, disrupting this environment that’s been relatively tranquil during its prior appearances.
—Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 15 May 2025
This sudden change disrupted high-frequency radio signals, leading to communication dropouts for some radio operators across affected regions.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 14 May 2025
Because formalism disrupts patriarchal assumptions about the nature of aesthetic experience (namely, that the author possesses omniscient knowledge transferable to the reader), Woolf deploys it to depict the impressions and sensations that characterize the female experience.
—Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for disrupt
Kevin Sabet, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
This time, though, he’s being fired, which he’s told by a supervisor who sneaks up and screams, disrupting this environment that’s been relatively tranquil during its prior appearances.
—Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 15 May 2025
This sudden change disrupted high-frequency radio signals, leading to communication dropouts for some radio operators across affected regions.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 14 May 2025
Because formalism disrupts patriarchal assumptions about the nature of aesthetic experience (namely, that the author possesses omniscient knowledge transferable to the reader), Woolf deploys it to depict the impressions and sensations that characterize the female experience.
—Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for disrupt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disrupt
Verb
-
Most of them lasted for about one microsecond before breaking apart.—
George Petras,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
-
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
16 May 2025
Verb
-
Beaches aren’t typically hotspots for these kinds of fossils unless something is disturbing the seafloor nearby and carrying the remains to shore.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
-
Solar flares can disturb Earth's ionosphere, for instance, briefly disrupting high-frequency radio signals and leading to brief radio blackouts on the daylit side of the planet during the flare event.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
22 May 2025
Verb
-
Brubaker fractured his ribs in spring training, and other injuries, including Tommy John surgery, have kept him out of the majors since 2022.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
18 May 2025
-
When a parent abuses a child, the experience can be too horrible to bear, so that what happens is that the core of the child’s identity gets fractured.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
16 May 2025
Verb
-
Also, this word et cetera at the end of the sentence confused me.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
26 May 2025
-
Weir was confused by the man’s unusual conviction, though.—
Louise Erdrich,
New Yorker,
25 May 2025
Verb
-
During the week of my embed, the Russian military identified and destroyed a few of the Vampire pilots’ positions.—
Nataliya Gumenyuk,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2025
-
Another key feature of algae oil is its high smoke point of 535 degrees—the temperature at which oil begins to break down, release dangerous chemicals, and destroy its nutrients.—
Jonathan Purtell,
Verywell Health,
27 May 2025
Verb
-
Bemused tourists attempt to shuffle through the acrid red and blue flare smoke.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
-
Deep in the bowels of State Farm Stadium, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson and a group of his players shuffled into a concrete-walled space that had been converted into a makeshift press conference room.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
16 May 2025
Verb
-
Their original sentences, which were 12 years and seven years, respectively, were reduced in September 2023.—
Esther Kang,
People.com,
28 May 2025
-
With Bayern aiming to reduce their wage bill, the Wirtz signing would have come at the cost of at least an extra €20million (£16.8m, $22.7m) per year, on top of a transfer fee somewhere between €100m and €150m.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
Within a year, the business is worse off—overextended, disorganized, and more stressed than before.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
7 May 2025
-
Flights can be disrupted or disorganized, passengers can be grumpy and some of them even might smell.—
Arabella Hau,
People.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disrupt. Accessed 30 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share