Hypertext Webster Gateway: "perturbation"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Perturbation \Per`tur*ba"tion\, n. [L. perturbatio: cf. F.
perturbation.]
1. The act of perturbing, or the state of being perturbed;
esp., agitation of mind.
2. (Astron.) A disturbance in the regular elliptic or other
motion of a heavenly body, produced by some force
additional to that which causes its regular motion; as,
the perturbations of the planets are caused by their
attraction on each other. --Newcomb.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
perturbation
n 1: an unhappy and worried mental state; "there was too much
anger and disturbance"; "she didn't realize the upset
she caused me" [syn: {disturbance}, {upset}]
2: activity that is an intrusion or interruption; "he looked
around for the source of the disturbance"; "there was a
disturbance of neural function" [syn: {disturbance}]
3: a disposition that is confused or nervous and upset [syn: {fluster}]
4: the act of causing disorder [syn: {disruption}]
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