n. 1. a. The act of disturbing: a disturbance of lake sediments.
b. The condition of being disturbed: “The forest ... is in various stages of disturbance. Only the biggest trees ... have been left standing” (Alex Shoumatoff).
2. Something that disturbs, as a commotion, scuffle, or public tumult.
3. Mental or emotional unbalance or disorder.
4. A variation in normal wind conditions.
5. Geology Folding or faulting that affects a relatively large area.
6. Physics An alteration or displacement of one or more properties of a physical system away from its equilibrium state.