Literary notes about Disturbed (AI summary)
In literature, “disturbed” functions as a versatile descriptor that conveys both inner turmoil and external disruption. At the individual level, it captures characters’ emotional unrest or physical agitation—as when Maryann’s sleep is unsettled by inner fears ([1]) or when a character’s composure is visibly shaken in the face of impending fate ([2], [3]). The term also extends beyond personal experiences, evoking environments marked by broken tranquility, such as rippling, agitated water that betrays a return to calm ([4]) or the wider societal disarray where even an entire nation is described as being in a disturbed state ([5]). In dialogue, its use underscores a desire for undisturbed focus ([6], [7]), reflecting both vulnerability and stern resolve. Thus, “disturbed” enriches narrative nuance by depicting shifts—whether psychological or physical—that propel characters and scenes into states of uneasy disruption.
- A few minutes after eleven had struck, Maryann turned in her bed with a sense of being disturbed.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - But he was more disturbed at the prospect of her future fate.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - Sir Clement, I saw, was absent and uneasy; he watched me, he watched Lord Orville, and was evidently disturbed in his mind.
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney - If the water is disturbed it becomes troubled, uneven, but it always has a tendency to return to its tranquil condition.
— from The Oera Linda Book, from a Manuscript of the Thirteenth Century - Nay, the provinces, too, and free cities, and some kingdoms in alliance with Rome, were all in a disturbed state.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - I am working, and must not be disturbed.
— from Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker - “Mama dislikes being disturbed in an evening,” remarked Eliza.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë
