upsetting

adjective

up·​set·​ting (ˌ)əp-ˈse-tiŋ 

: mentally or emotionally troubling or disturbing : causing feelings of worry or anxiety

heard some upsetting news

an upsetting experience

We're up to [a deficit of] $1.5 trillion a year …. These numbers are truly upsetting.

—Bill Gates

Professors issue, or students demand, trigger warnings when presenting material that might be upsetting to some: depictions of rape, sexism, racism, suicide.

—Yvonne Abraham

upsettingly adverb

an upsettingly graphic depiction of violence

In comparison to male historical figures, the number of women that we learn about throughout school is upsettingly low.

—Alexis Gardner

Synonyms

• discomforting
• discomposing
• disquieting
• distressing
• disturbing
• nagging
• nasty
• perturbing
• troublesome
• troubling
• troublous
• unsettling
• worrisome

Examples of upsetting in a Sentence

the constant arguing is upsetting to a sensitive person like your grandmother

Recent Examples on the Web

The recent Norwegian movie Handling the Undead uses zombies as a profoundly upsetting exploration of grief. —James Grebey, Time, 20 June 2025

An arson task force announced that the incident had nothing to do with Moore, upsetting Johnson. —Alexis Okeowo, New Yorker, 16 June 2025

Every doctor's visit was more upsetting than the last, says Samatha's mother-in-law, Marion Grant. —Wendy Grossman Kantor, People.com, 10 June 2025

This is not okay and watching this video is actually so upsetting.. —Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 29 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for upsetting

• abetting
• begetting
• besetting
• bloodletting
• briquetting
• forgetting
• offsetting
• pipetting
• regretting
• resetting
• subletting
• typesetting