disrupting

verb

present participle of disrupt
1
as in breaking
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly an earthquake that had disrupted the elevated highway in several places

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shuffling
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 disrupting Habits are usually paired with physical or emotional cues, and disrupting those cues can disrupt the habit. — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 Eight years ago, protesters frequently drove coverage in their preferred direction by disrupting candidates (Movimiento Cosecha pushed Biden to endorse a deportation moratorium, for instance) and showing up to press them at Q&As. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026 This week Ukraine also reported Elon Musk’s crucial Starlink internet system had been abruptly restricted on its drones, disrupting its military’s operations, with concerns in Kyiv the move was intended to further pressure it. — ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026 Student protests gained momentum during Paris Fashion Week, without significantly disrupting the event. — Laure Guilbault, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2026 Since October 8, Ukrainian attacks have damaged three of the five major data centers powering Yandex’s operations, disrupting the daily lives of millions of users. — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 Previous work on drone-control interfaces has explored tablet-like displays and supporting hardware that allow pilots to communicate mission instructions without significantly disrupting their primary flying duties. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026 For me, the most interesting thing is disrupting that expectation. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026 In Belgium, meanwhile, students joined demonstrations alongside striking workers as the country's two largest labour unions staged a national strike on Friday, disrupting public transport, air travel and other sectors. — Makini Brice, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disrupting
  1. breaking
  2. shuffling
  3. fracturing
  4. disturbing
  5. destroying
  6. confusing
  7. reducing
  8. upsetting
Verb
  • The single most difficult part of Rainbeau’s job last season was to stay up on lates with Solène, having to do both their jobs while Solène was busy having a glass of wine or breaking someone’s heart.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Katie Zacharia made her debut as Donald Trump‘s new White House press secretary on Tuesday with a very short briefing that nevertheless offered a bit of breaking news as well as a lot of praise and thanks for her new boss.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of breaking
Verb
  • Green tea was served by gang members shuffling around in slippers.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Ivey and his partner persuaded the Crockfords dealer to rotate the high-value cards 180 degrees before shuffling them back into the pack, citing some obscure superstition as justification.
    — Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of shuffling
Verb
  • Michael Flynn was 28 and working towards earning his PHD in theoretical physics when the 30-foot-long dead tree limb fell over 27 feet onto him, fracturing his skull and changing his life forever.
    — Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Apart from the group’s buy-in to doing the little things, its commitment to unselfish football keeps one of the most dynamic running games in the country from fracturing.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of fracturing
Verb
  • Furthermore, the use of economic arguments to justify oppression has disturbing historical precedent.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Police Chief Paul Joseph said at a press conference on Tuesday that Lieu had a criminal history involving firearms and disturbing behavior.
    — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of disturbing
Verb
  • Hurricane Isaias made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Saturday, spawning tornadoes, destroying buildings and downing power lines across the Gulf region.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Israeli soldiers filmed themselves in high definition laughing, looting homes, destroying entire rows of buildings, humiliating civilians, even killing them.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Bill Belichick has made a Hall of Fame career on confusing young quarterbacks.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The crowd even includes Sam, who has a fun moment catching up with Roy and confusing him with an observation that sounds like it was inspired by The Wizard of Oz.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • While serving as a public health official, el Sayed wrote an op-ed in 2019 strongly supporting the Green New Deal, arguing that reducing greenhouse gas emissions will help improve public health.
    — Maydeen Merino, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Together, the tools could help accelerate the development of more resilient electric motor systems while reducing the risks associated with critical material shortages, volatile supply chains and rapidly changing global markets.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • Before upsetting Montana State Idaho lost three FCS nonconference games by a total of 12 points.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Yes, the Jaguars are obviously much happier after going into Cincinnati and upsetting the Bengals.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of upsetting

Browse Nearby Words

disrupters
disrupting
disruption
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Cite this Entry

“Disrupting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disrupting. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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