bothering 1 of 2

noun

as in harassment
the act of making unwelcome intrusions upon another one more bothering, and I'm going to kick you out of here

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bothering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bother
1
as in worrying
to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation I am never going to get this work done if people don't stop wandering into the room and bothering me

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bugging
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts it bothers me when obviously sick people go to movies and spend the whole time coughing and sneezing

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3
as in fearing
to experience concern or anxiety just get the basic concept right and don't bother about the details

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4
as in distracting
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy the boss's cryptic message about changes to the company bothered me

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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 bothering
Verb
His work is autobiographical and based on whatever has been bothering him that year. — Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 For example, companies that benefit from customers not bothering to cancel subscriptions, compare prices, or search for better deals have taken a beating in recent weeks. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026 Lowe said a white shark nursery reappeared for the first time since 2011 in Santa Monica Bay, where juveniles frolic without bothering humans. — Daniel Trotta, Arkansas Online, 9 Oct. 2026 If neck pain keeps coming back or the lines bothering you keep getting deeper, talk with a doctor or dermatologist instead of relying on a gadget alone. — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026 Heat, gentle pressure and rhythmic massage can simply feel good, whether your neck is bothering you or not. — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026 Lane Kiffin will stroll off the LSU bus later this afternoon, acting as if none of the noise is bothering him. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026 The injury was something that had been bothering Smith throughout training camp, but the decision to get surgery wasn’t made until recently. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Sep. 2026 The list of maladies bothering Ohtani is lengthy, and grew this week. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bothering
  1. harassment
  2. worrying
  3. bugging
  4. distracting
  5. disturbance
  6. pestering
  7. annoying
  8. concerning
Noun
  • Jewish residents have faced physical attacks, threats and harassment, making the specificity of its new plan and its contrast with New York City’s approach particularly notable.
    — Ariella Noveck, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Eisenhard has been charged with strangulation, simple assault, indecent assault, harassment and disorderly conduct in that case.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of harassment
Verb
  • The activists who once demanded radical change begin worrying about their children’s safety, their schools, and whether the neighborhood is a decent place to grow up.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Public support for Israel in the United States has plummeted, worrying many Israeli voters.
    — Daniel Estrin, NPR, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of worrying
Verb
  • The Department of Justice’s prosecution of a Saudi national for allegedly bugging an OpenAI conference room is causing anxiety among OpenAI employees, many of whom are foreign nationals.
    — Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • On Monday, a court granted the US government’s request to deny release of a former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a top-secret conference room to steal the frontier lab’s secrets.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of bugging
Verb
  • Rather than immediately distracting yourself, approach the emotion with curiosity.
    — Juli Fraga, Time, 29 Oct. 2026
  • If a tablet is too distracting, there are other ways to make digital art.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of distracting
Noun
  • Gary Griggs, a geologist at UC Santa Cruz, said the elevated water levels are linked to El Niño conditions and ocean disturbances known as Kelvin waves.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Sleep disturbances are common in depression, and night owls (who tend to get less sleep than early birds) are likely to have more and worse depressive symptoms.
    — Payal Dhar, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of disturbance
Verb
  • Andrew Dismukes as Sam-I-Am is pestering the unnamed breakfast hater (Mikey Day).
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Children became the sales force, pestering their parents for the latest product.
    — Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of pestering
Verb
  • That unexpected fandom has grown over the past two years, with unlikely converts taking to the internet’s alleyways to spread the good word—and, in the process, annoying the doubters.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Kids in all three countries loved learning dances from TikTok and annoying their siblings.
    — Ryan Lenora Brown, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of annoying
Verb
  • Part of the reason the open letter concerning Nazi Substack newsletters didn’t stick, perhaps, was that no one is reading the same things anyway.
    — Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Most concerning for Talarico as Hispanic turnout explodes throughout the state are accounts that Latino men aren’t sold on his candidacy.
    — W. James Antle III, The Washington Examiner, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of concerning

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Cite this Entry

“Bothering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bothering. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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