worrying

adjective

wor·​ry·​ing ˈwər-ē-iŋ How to pronounce worrying (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 See All Example Sentences for worrying

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of worrying was in 1817

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Worrying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worrying. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.

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