troubled

adjective

trou·​bled ˈtrə-bəld 

1

a

: concerned, worried

troubled feelings about the decision

b

: exhibiting emotional or behavioral problems

a program for troubled youth

2

: characterized by or indicative of trouble

our troubled cities

a gray and troubled sky

Synonyms

• aflutter
• antsy
• anxious
• atwitter
• dithery
• edgy
• goosey
• het up
• hinky [slang]
• hung up
• ill at ease
• insecure
• jittery
• jumpy
• nervous
• nervy
• perturbed
• queasy
• queazy
• tense
• uneasy
• unquiet
• upset
• uptight
• worried

Examples of troubled in a Sentence

She seemed troubled about something.

These have been troubled times.

Recent Examples on the Web

But behind the chants and cheering lies a troubled past. —Tomás Hill López-Menchero, New York Times, 31 May 2025

Set on the fictional New England island of New Penzance in the 1960s, Sam (Jared Gilman), an emotionally disturbed orphan, and Suzy (Kara Hayward), a sophisticated, yet troubled girl in the vein of Margot Tenenbaum, long to grow up and get away from the chaos that surrounds them. —Shannon Carlin, Time, 30 May 2025

This year the American/JetBlue relationship became so troubled that American sued JetBlue. —Ted Reed, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025

Jake Wood was executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, what had been a troubled effort to get more aid into Gaza in a way that would be acceptable to Israel, which has sought to tightly control all aid deliveries. —Wafaa Shurafa, Arkansas Online, 26 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing troubled

• ease someone's (troubled) mind
• guilty/troubled conscience
• pour oil on troubled waters
• troubled waters

Rhymes for troubled

• bubbled
• doubled
• redoubled
• untroubled