Perturbation

Perturbation has two distinct meanings depending on the context in which it is used. When used in physics or sciences such as astronomy, perturbation means a deviation of a system (sometimes slight). For example, in astronomy gravity occasionally causes deviations in the orbit of a celestial body. This is called a perturbation. However, when referring to human beings, it means mental unease or anxiety. A person's perturbations, therefore, are disturbances of her or his emotional state. While this disturbance is relevant to deviation, as an emotion perturbation appears to relate much more closely to the Latin which the word derives from: "to disturb greatly." Generally we are more familiar with the verb form "to perturb" when talking about states of mind. Being perturbed is not generally seen as something slight or minor, but it certainly is enraged either.