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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
The list of maladies bothering Ohtani is lengthy, and grew this week. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Ohtani reported that the area from his biceps to his neck was bothering him Wednesday night, Roberts said. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Something at home could be bothering you more than you’d like to admit, perhaps a tense family dynamic or the fact that your apartment is a literal mess. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026 Ask what’s bothering them, then get specific about the budget, timeline, and genuine risk. — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 1 Sep. 2026 Some interns hesitate to contact their former colleagues for fear of bothering them, but most people are eager to help out young talent. — Sophie Caldwell, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026 The one issue that is bothering me at or just before launch is the CPU's Wear and Tear management. — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026 The arnica in this gel can help treat sore muscles, aches, swelling, or other pains that are bothering you, too. — Jasmine Gomez, Travel + Leisure, 11 Aug. 2026 Once your child starts spilling the beans about what’s bothering them, be understanding. — Jenna Autuori-Dedic, Parents, 4 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bothering
  1. harassment
  2. worrying
  3. bugging
  4. distracting
  5. disturbance
  6. pestering
  7. annoying
  8. concerning
Noun
  • Players have revealed their concerns about harassment and death threats reaching a traumatizing level.
    — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Presidential officials have also warned against harassment and xenophobia.
    — Vivianne Wandera, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of harassment
Verb
  • That’s almost eight months of talking, worrying and dreaming about the Bears.
    — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The news, which prompted Treasury yields to fall, came after days of headlines worrying about a global sell-off in government bonds.
    — Matt Peterson,Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of worrying
Verb
  • However, in-flight cabin etiquette is only one part of what’s bugging travelers this summer.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The necessity of the trip at all is what's been bugging me.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 12 June 2026
Definition of bugging
Verb
  • The tale of any historical figure is also one of time and place, but despite these looming ideas, the film’s particular unspooling has a distracting quality.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Suppressing tics as treatment Suppressing tics can be distracting and exhausting, yet decades of research has shown that tic suppression can be strengthened and used therapeutically.
    — Michael Okun, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of distracting
Noun
  • The front retreats to the north, but chances of rain stick around into early Friday as the shortwave (small disturbance) pushes out of the area.
    — Michael Autovino, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026
  • That disturbance can travel eastward from the Tibetan Plateau as a large-scale atmospheric wave, known as a Tibetan Plateau-Rocky Mountain Wave train.
    — Yongkang Xue, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of disturbance
Verb
  • Children became the sales force, pestering their parents for the latest product.
    — Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
  • In the clip shared on social media, the bird appears poised to go after a second player before veering off at the last moment, then continues pestering several others on the field until the referee is forced to pause the game.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of pestering
Verb
  • Kids in all three countries loved learning dances from TikTok and annoying their siblings.
    — Ryan Lenora Brown, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Of course, this would depend on whether the managers choose to pick their strongest teams in what for some is a meaningless, even annoying extra fixture, for squads who just want to go home.
    — Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 18 July 2026
Definition of annoying
Verb
  • Flowers aggravated a summer hamstring issue and Lane’s wrist injury could be concerning.
    — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The rest of the firm’s case doesn’t need help from the Fed to look concerning on its own.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 Sep. 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 15 Sep. 2026.

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