disturbing
/dɪsˈtɝ.bɪŋ/adjective, verb
disturbing is spelled D-I-S-T-U-R-B-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, disturbing means “Causing distress or worry; upsetting or unsettling” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in disturbing?
| Letters | 10: D-I-S-T-U-R-B-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is disturbing?
Disturbing appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce disturbing?
- UK /dɪsˈtɜː.bɪŋ/
- US /dɪsˈtɝ.bɪŋ/
Disturbing has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Sapaa-disturbing.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of disturbing
- more disturbing comparative
- most disturbing superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does disturbing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Causing distress or worry; upsetting or unsettling.
A disturbing film that tries to explore the mind of a serial killer.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of disturb
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Disturbing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense causing distress or worry:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dérangeant, perturbant |
| German | verstörend |
| Spanish | inquietante, perturbador, traumático, turbio, da yuyu |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.