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

Nobody wanted to announce the news after such a recent and worrying injury. —Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

This isn’t to knock van der Kolk’s book—a book on mental health being so popular feels like a win—but fewer and fewer books getting larger and larger deals is a worrying trend. —James Folta, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025

All of these changes blend into a rather worrying picture for child health coverage. —Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

Equity General Secretary Paul W Fleming said on Thursday that the creation of Tilly Norwood and news over the weekend that talent agents were looking to sign the AI character was part of a larger worrying phenomenon. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for worrying

• currying
• hurrying
• scurrying