: 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
Mark Twain
worryingly
adverb
When the secretary returned, she handed us an envelope that looked worryingly official …
—Caroline Alexander
Caroline Alexander
… money held by households has risen at a worryingly slow rate over the past year …
—The Economist
The Economist
Examples of worrying in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
So, anyone who maintained a diversified portfolio during those periods may have seen some worrying drops in their holdings in the short run, but benefited soon after.
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
His sides were known for their attacking prowess, but for the Lions, the worrying fact is that his teams also struggled defensively.
—Kyle Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2026
At the other end, there was the worrying sight of their defensive fragility returning.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Burdette worked with a team of North Carolina State University scientists who measured PFAS concentration in the blood of alligators and found that it was correlated with immune issues in the animals—another worrying sign in a decades-long history of PFAS poisoning in Cape Fear.
—Patrick Sisson, Scientific American, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for worrying
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Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
His sides were known for their attacking prowess, but for the Lions, the worrying fact is that his teams also struggled defensively.
—Kyle Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2026
At the other end, there was the worrying sight of their defensive fragility returning.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Burdette worked with a team of North Carolina State University scientists who measured PFAS concentration in the blood of alligators and found that it was correlated with immune issues in the animals—another worrying sign in a decades-long history of PFAS poisoning in Cape Fear.
—Patrick Sisson, Scientific American, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for worrying
Cite this Entry
“Worrying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worrying. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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