perturbation.

A disturbance of mental composure caused by worrying or unsettling events.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• visible perturbation
• conceal one’s perturbation
• signs of perturbation

On the page

Only the repeated folding of his napkin betrayed his perturbation.

The unexplained discrepancy caused considerable perturbation among the inspectors.

She received the warning with less perturbation than he expected.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Formal and less conversational than worry; often describes an observable disruption rather than overwhelming terror. Scientific disturbance is a separate sense. Usually uncountable in this sense. Count plural: perturbations. Derived family (not additional inflections or records): perturb; perturbed.