A person, thing, or force that causes disruption or breaks up an established order or pattern.
From 'disrupt' plus the agent noun suffix '-er' (from Old English -ere). The term became especially prominent in late 20th-century business and technology discourse to describe innovations or people who challenge the status quo.
Steve Jobs was called a 'disrupter' because the iPhone broke up the entire mobile phone industry—but interestingly, the word only became common after companies realized that disruption could be profitable and admirable, not just destructive.
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