worrying

adjective

wor·​ry·​ing ˈwər-ē-iŋ 

ˈwə-rē-

: 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

worryingly adverb

When the secretary returned, she handed us an envelope that looked worryingly official …

—Caroline Alexander

… money held by households has risen at a worryingly slow rate over the past year …

—The Economist

Examples of worrying in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s the big ask of such films: tucking majorly worrying world events (a stock market crash? —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2025

Even more worrying is the possibility of escalation in border conflicts among nuclear-armed states, such as China, India, and Pakistan. —Tanisha M. Fazal, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2025

Speaking of which, another worrying trend is the rise in politically motivated property crimes targeting Tesla. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025

The Workforce Of The Future will be Enhanced By AI, Not Necessarily Replaced By It One of the most worrying and pressing issues that many in the business world will be faced with is the potential of job loss caused by AI. —Cathy Hackl, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for worrying

• currying
• hurrying
• scurrying