worrisome

adjective wor·ri·some \ ˈwər-ē-səm , ˈwə-rē- \

Updated on: 16 May 2018

Definition of worrisome

1 : causing distress or worry

worrisome news

2 : inclined to worry or fret

investors feeling worrisome

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worrisomely

adverb

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worrisomeness

noun

See worrisome defined for English-language learners

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Examples of worrisome in a Sentence

There is the worrisome possibility of hurricane damage on the coast.
the patient's erratic behavior has become increasingly worrisome

Recent Examples of worrisome from the Web

The undertreatment of individuals with severe mental illness is as worrisome as the over-treatment of those who are mildly distressed.

— rebecca a. seligman, STAT, "Cultural confusion: the shifting line between sane and ‘unsane’," 8 May 2018
The threat is worrisome enough that a dozen or so special-teams coaches, including the Bengals’ Darrin Simmons, have offered changes designed to lessen the head-injury risk in playing on a kickoff team.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "DOC: Eliminate kickoffs? Not if Nate Ebner has a say," 5 May 2018
This is especially worrisome to the royal family because the U.S. government will know exactly how much the British monetary is giving her.

— amanda garrity, Good Housekeeping, "Meghan Markle’s American Citizenship Could Majorly Complicate Her and Harry's Taxes," 3 May 2018
The response in the Arab world, by contrast, has been more muted, apparently because Israel’s behavior is less worrisome to moderate Arab leaders than ...

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "Arab Leaders Have Abandoned Gaza, Too," 1 May 2018
What makes this exploit particularly worrisome for Nintendo and other Tegra vendors is that it apparently can't be fixed via a simple downloadable patch; the flawed bootROM in question can't be modified once the Tegra chip leaves the factory.

— kyle orland, Ars Technica, "The “unpatchable” exploit that makes every current Nintendo Switch hackable [Updated]," 23 Apr. 2018
But these days, Earth Day activists are busy trying to debunk conspiracy theories, such as the one that global warming is a hoax, that are perhaps more worrisome than anything the original 1970 organizers could imagine.

— olivia b. waxman, Time, "Behind the Photo That Made People Think Earth Day Was Founded by a Convicted Killer," 20 Apr. 2018
Over the past 18 months, the nation’s fingerprints have appeared in an increasing number of cyberattacks, the skill level of its hackers has rapidly improved and their targets have become more worrisome, a Journal examination of the program reveals.

— gerard baker, WSJ, "The 10-Point.," 20 Apr. 2018
Perhaps more worrisome, these peat fires can burn underground and unnoticed for a long time.

— megan gannon, Scientific American, "Greenland's Biggest Fire Is a "Warning" for Its Future," 14 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'worrisome.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.