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Synonym Chooser

How does the verb bother differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of bother are annoy, irk, and vex. While all these words mean "to upset a person's composure," bother suggests interference with comfort or peace of mind.

don't bother me while I'm reading

In what contexts can annoy take the place of bother?

The words annoy and bother are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, annoy implies a wearing on the nerves by persistent petty unpleasantness.

their constant complaining annoys us

When can irk be used instead of bother?

Although the words irk and bother have much in common, irk stresses difficulty in enduring and the resulting weariness or impatience of spirit.

careless waste irks the boss

When is it sensible to use vex instead of bother?

The synonyms vex and bother are sometimes interchangeable, but vex implies greater provocation and stronger disturbance and usually connotes anger but sometimes perplexity or anxiety.

vexed by her son's failure to clean his room

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of bother
Verb
However, fans were led to believe the spoof was still bothering her as she was photographed crying in London on Monday. Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 16 Apr. 2025 Of the changes between the original edition and the special edition, two stand out as bothering fans over the years. Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Noun
Which team’s pass rush bothers or contains the other QB more effectively might tip this result. Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2025 Season eight of Love Is Blind will follow singles from Minneapolis, Minnesota and is already in some bother with the National Labor Relations Board! Movie icon Robert De Niro leads Netflix’s most prestige TV launch for February, in the political thriller Zero Day. Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bother
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bother
Verb
  • According to Breen’s brother-in-law, Corey Feist, many people worried that any move to take care of their mental health could affect their jobs.
    Christina Ray Stanton, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Moran worries that Alvarado, a diabetic breast cancer survivor who suffers from high blood pressure and needs to eat and drink frequently, will have poor access to her medication in detention — or after deportation.
    Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Seiders, 44, is charged with felony child pornography possession, misdemeanor annoying a child under 18, concealing a camera with intent to invade privacy and attempting to conceal a camera.
    Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025
  • What annoyed me was good old-fashioned stupid gameplay.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • This tactic—arresting judges for their courtroom decisions—has disturbing echoes in other countries where judicial independence has been undermined: in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey, and in other places where democracy has given way to executive supremacy.
    Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • No doubt, climate change threatens to muck it all up, disturbing patterns that have existed for centuries.
    Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • But that money ran out in a hurry, state records show, with the majority of it, 67%, going to ranchers whose wolves were killed by the Whaleback pack.
    Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
  • In a hurry, Mr. Trump is now considering firing Mr. Powell.
    Laurent Belsie, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • On April 30th, 2022, a security guard at a local business plaza called the police to report Mary as a nuisance.
    Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Protester Trenton Oldfield swam in front of both boats and was jailed for six months for causing a public nuisance.
    Tim Spiers, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Dehydration can be dangerous and may result in headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and other unpleasant symptoms, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
    Sarah Klein, Time, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Not everyone with a mild headache needs a CT scan of the brain.
    Paul Hsieh, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Maybe the trauma was having the type of brain that this type of world is not built for and butting up against that frustration again and again.
    Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • The frustration of losing the Corales Puntacana Championship almost on the last hole quickly passed for Joel Dahmen.
    Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Also fitting that description is Schröder, whose hounding defense continues to pester opposing point guards.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2025
  • When Lisa scrolls her phone for music to play, Manda pesters her daughter to cue up something by her childhood favorite, A-ha, which in turn prompts her to tell the story of one of her and Eddie’s first dates.
    Judy Berman, TIME, 24 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bother.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bother. Accessed 4 May. 2025.

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