Unperturbed or imperturbable?

To understand the difference between unperturbed and imperturbable, let’s start with the meaning of “perturbed”, which is something like upset or troubled.

We say that someone is “unperturbed” when they are not perturbed – not upset or troubled.

For example:  

• Despite all the changes to her plans, she remained unperturbed.
• They were unperturbed by the bad weather.
• He was unperturbed by the challenge if climbing the mountain.

We say that someone is “imperturbable” when they are not easily perturbed, troubled or upset.

For example:

• She was one of those imperturbable people who never get angry or upset.
• He remained imperturbable, in spite of the trouble he faced.                                                      

One way of thinking about the difference is that “unperturbed” is specific, while “imperturbable” is general:

• Someone who is unperturbed is not perturbed by a specific event.
• Someone who is imperturbable is not easily perturbed by events in general.

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^{Thanks to Valeria for the question}

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Posted by Graham