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

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

This involves setting a timer for 15 minutes and writing down every worrying thought that comes to mind until the time is up, then shutting the journal. —Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2025

That’s the shift in norms that seems most worrying to Shenderovich. —Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for worrying

• currying
• hurrying
• scurrying