upsetting

1 of 2

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

upsetting

2 of 2

present participle of upset entry 1

Synonyms of upsetting

Adjective

• disturbing
• unsettling
• troubling
• frightening

Examples of upsetting in a Sentence

Adjective

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Don't delete conversations before documenting them, even if the experience is upsetting. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

According to Shuter, the situation at the rugby match was very confusing and upsetting for Harry. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 14 Oct. 2026

The Horned Frogs showed plenty of fight in nearly upsetting BYU, which could be considered the Big 12 front-runner. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2026

Now, none of this excuses what Cathy does to poor, sweet, trusting Faye, whom Martha Plimpton plays with a chummy maternal quality that makes her grotesque demise that much more upsetting. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1872, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for upsetting

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