The unexpected fluctuation in the satellite's orbit perturbed the engineers, who had calculated its path precisely.
卫星轨道的意外波动使工程师们感到不安，因为他们曾精确计算过其路径。
Which choice best defines “perturb”?
B — Disturb, worry. “perturb” means disturb, worry.
Which word means “disturb, worry”?
C — perturb. “perturb” means disturb, worry.
perturb — disturb, worry. In Chinese: 打扰，使不安.
perturb is pronounced /pərˈtɜːrb/.
The unexpected fluctuation in the satellite's orbit perturbed the engineers, who had calculated its path precisely. (卫星轨道的意外波动使工程师们感到不安，因为他们曾精确计算过其路径。)
disturb, agitate, disquiet — all close in meaning to perturb (disturb, worry).
calm, soothe — each the opposite of perturb (disturb, worry).
Yes. perturb is on the SAT Prep Easy list — mid-frequency academic words that do get tested. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
perturb(disrupt)