DISRUPTS Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

disrupts

verb

present tense third-person singular of disrupt

as in breaks

to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly an earthquake that had disrupted the elevated highway in several places

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as in disturbs

to undo the proper order or arrangement of the arrival of a baby in the household would totally disrupt their established routine

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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 disrupts Montemayor told Campus Insights Media that alcohol disrupts rest at a biological level, fragmenting sleep into short bursts that leave a person feeling drained the following morning. — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2026 Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming at low cost, triggering hazardous haze that reduces visibility, disrupts land and air transportation and threatens public health. — Muhammad Hatta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026 Change disrupts the status quo, and employees often resist change activities to preserve stability. — John Radman, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 In Egypt, for example, steep hikes in fuel and food prices and enormous losses of Suez Canal revenues as the war disrupts global shipping are compounding existing fiscal and unemployment crises. — Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 The capability could prove useful during missions where electronic warfare disrupts conventional navigation systems. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026 Sleep and health researchers say moving clocks twice a year disrupts the body's circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep and other biological functions. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026 Salt, like vinegar, also disrupts plant cell growth and dries out plant tissues. — The Spruce, 6 Aug. 2026 The pipeline has played a key role in moving Saudi oil exports to market as Iran disrupts the Strait of Hormuz with attacks on tankers. — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 30 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disrupts

Verb

The move publicly challenges the accuracy of the state’s death determinations in an extraordinary move that breaks precedent that states are the arbiters of case and death determinations, not the CDC.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 1 Sep. 2026
According to Rehberger, a terminal operator who shows up when something breaks, handles the paperwork, and keeps machines generating revenue tends to hold onto locations in a way that an initial pitch alone cannot replicate.

— Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of breaks

Verb

Traffic between somebody else's router and somebody else's laptop, say in a random coffee shop or an airport, can provide the radio field that your body disturbs to create your specific signature.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2026
Tilling or plowing in the summer disturbs the soil's delicate ecosystem and exposes moist soil to rapid water loss.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 24 June 2026

Definition of disturbs

Verb

But halfway through the trip, an earthquake strikes, causing an avalanche that destroys their mountainside path, separates them from John and strands them 4,000 feet in the air.

— Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
Leaving corn in boiling water for too long increases water retention and destroys corn’s crispy texture.

— Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of destroys

Verb

Bookshelves were filled with actual paperwork and documents used by medical professionals, while even the hairline fractures visible on X-rays were created with the guidance of real-life practicing physicians.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
With enough pulses, the fast-swelling channel, as in Yutkin’s investigation, induces a shock wave that fractures the rock.

— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of fractures

Verb

The line shuffles forward quickly, and my heart knots in my chest as Heartfillers are dosed to each person up ahead.

— Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026
In the clip, Dawkins shuffles out onto the field with no shirt, a pair of Crocs and a clear plastic bag ready to get the ol' inside-out treatment.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of shuffles

Verb

At the center, a Geometric CNC Fuller visually reduces the mass of the blade while reinforcing Razorbill's distinctive multi-faceted character.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
The powertrain also recaptures waste energy; the ThermAssist heat management system boosts range by 7 percent and reduces the amount of energy needed to heat the car by 40 percent.

— Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of reduces

Verb

Even those who can afford to stay suffer losses in home equity and lifestyle as the community around them disintegrates or disappears.

— The Conversation, Fortune, 12 June 2026
None are quite about the conflicting frames of reference and value that arise when an ancient cultural formation disintegrates and a successor has yet to take its place.

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026