as in annoyed
subjected to and reacting with irritation
got all hot and bothered by his brother's constant unsolicited advice
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in worried
to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation
I am never going to get this work done if people don't stop wandering into the room and bothering me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irritated
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
it bothers me when obviously sick people go to movies and spend the whole time coughing and sneezing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in feared
to experience concern or anxiety
just get the basic concept right and don't bother about the details
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in alarmed
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
the boss's cryptic message about changes to the company bothered me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bothered
Tyler Jenke, Billboard, 14 Aug. 2025
Here, you're guaranteed to avoid that hot-and-bothered feeling and instead fully relax into your holiday.
—Anoushka Dutta, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 July 2025
Rick Kretzschmar, Dallas Morning News, 14 Feb. 2026
Common Pests and Problems Hardy cyclamen planted in ground are rarely bothered by pests.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 12 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bothered
Adjective
Despite his status as a pop culture icon for close to 50 years now, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has claimed he’s not terribly bothered about being overlooked by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
—Tyler Jenke, Billboard, 14 Aug. 2025
Here, you're guaranteed to avoid that hot-and-bothered feeling and instead fully relax into your holiday.
—Anoushka Dutta, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 July 2025
Verb
Hunt was hampered by a right ankle injury that bothered her for the duration of the tournament.
—Rick Kretzschmar, Dallas Morning News, 14 Feb. 2026
Common Pests and Problems Hardy cyclamen planted in ground are rarely bothered by pests.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 12 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bothered
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bothered
Adjective
-
One scene shows an annoyed President Obama, trying to have a private conversation with Tutu, whose security detail quickly pushes back the camera team.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Some, without even asking, just threw up their hands, and, annoyed, picked up their pace and kept walking up Vorovsky Street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Hard-liners may have worried that a deal would change the balance of factional forces inside the regime, and so sought to shore up their internal position by arresting their rivals.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Bretherton, worried that these equations will never fully capture clouds’ behavior, is developing new AI tools that can predict the future directly from real-world data, barely relying on physics equations at all.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
For a long time your political cartoons published in the editorial pages have irritated me.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The song, which reclaims a derogatory term for Venezuelan female migrants, was interpreted as defiant and irritated the Venezuelan president, then facing widespread reports of electoral fraud.—
Leonor C. Suárez,
Rolling Stone,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
An Indian colleague was alarmed by the praise for colonialism.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The Palantir executive was alarmed by the implication of Anthropic’s inquiry that the company might resist the use of its technology in a US military operation, and reported the conversation back to the Pentagon, a senior Defense Department official said.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Fedor Zugic scored nine points on a trio of first-half 3-pointers to lead Creighton (14-14, 8-9), unable to build off a big upset Wednesday at UConn.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Residents in Queens are getting upset over the explanation from the city for a massive puddle that just won't go away.—
Andrew Ramos,
CBS News,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As a Broward resident, I am deeply disturbed by the systematic failure of our state attorney’s offfice to prosecute the exploitation of our most vulnerable citizens.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Matkom was disturbed by the residents' testimony.—
Everett Eaton,
jsonline.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Instead, Ladinig says Pierre Haobsh bugged Henry Han's computer with a spyware app called a keylogger.—
Natalie Morales,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Feeling good Weathers has been bugged by several injuries over the last few years.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Meanwhile, Lee published a list of questions for Sarandos on social media Friday morning, which primarily concerned the anticompetitive implications of a WBD-Netflix merger.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Soaring levels of debt issuance among tech companies have Wall Street on edge, but staff economists at the Federal Reserve aren’t that concerned yet.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bothered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bothered. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
