: causing worry : creating reason for worry : troubling
a worrying trend/development
a worrying question
The presence of the knife on the stage of the murder was a worrying circumstance for Wilson.—
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
worryingly
adverb
When the secretary returned, she handed us an envelope that looked worryingly official …
—Caroline Alexander
Caroline Alexander
… money held by households has risen at a worryingly slow rate over the past year …
—The Economist
The Economist
Examples of worrying in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Perennial herbs can also help to keep pests away—so no more worrying about pesticides lingering in your homegrown veggies.
—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 May 2024
More worrying, the decline seems to be speeding up—by the calculations of one male fertility founder, sperm counts have fallen by 50% to 60% over the last four decades.
—Alena Botros, Fortune Well, 21 May 2024
Another recent worrying sign, Friedman says: Deaths of despair among Latinos are starting to catch up to those among Black and Native Americans.
—Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
Cape Town's paramedics have long had their work cut out responding to emergencies in one of the world's most crime-prone cities, but over the past decade, a worrying shift has taken place.
—Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 19 May 2024
That’s because the boasting lyrics and approving looks of Son and Fan #2 underscore a worrying reality: namely, that our pervasive and permanent distractedness is increasingly seen as perfectly normal, perfectly acceptable, maybe even virtuous.
—Zach Przystup, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 2024
Even more worrying, new research finds an increasing number of borrowers are falling behind on debt payments, putting their long-term financial health at risk.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 14 May 2024
What was once a trickle of worrying hints is now a torrent of abuse.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 13 May 2024
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment report revealed a sharper-than-expected dip in May, along with a worrying rise in inflation expectations.
—Detroit Free Press, 11 May 2024
Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 May 2024
More worrying, the decline seems to be speeding up—by the calculations of one male fertility founder, sperm counts have fallen by 50% to 60% over the last four decades.
—Alena Botros, Fortune Well, 21 May 2024
Another recent worrying sign, Friedman says: Deaths of despair among Latinos are starting to catch up to those among Black and Native Americans.
—Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
Cape Town's paramedics have long had their work cut out responding to emergencies in one of the world's most crime-prone cities, but over the past decade, a worrying shift has taken place.
—Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 19 May 2024
That’s because the boasting lyrics and approving looks of Son and Fan #2 underscore a worrying reality: namely, that our pervasive and permanent distractedness is increasingly seen as perfectly normal, perfectly acceptable, maybe even virtuous.
—Zach Przystup, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 2024
Even more worrying, new research finds an increasing number of borrowers are falling behind on debt payments, putting their long-term financial health at risk.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 14 May 2024
What was once a trickle of worrying hints is now a torrent of abuse.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 13 May 2024
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment report revealed a sharper-than-expected dip in May, along with a worrying rise in inflation expectations.
—Detroit Free Press, 11 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'worrying.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near worrying
Cite this Entry
“Worrying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worrying. Accessed 1 Jun. 2024.
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