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

The situation in the southern front, around Zaporizhzhia, has become as worrying as that in the east, where the battle for the city of Pokrovsk has attracted the most attention. —Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2025

This is what to know about the worrying binge drinking trend, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. —Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025

The United States finds itself in a profoundly worrying strategic position. —Edward Fishman, Time, 21 Nov. 2025

And after losing a job, Black women tend to remain unemployed for longer than other workers — a worrying trend that dates back to the Great Recession. —Ebonie Walker, Refinery29, 14 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for worrying

• currying
• hurrying
• scurrying