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
Hip still bothering Springs Springs lasted just four innings after issuing a season-high five walks, throwing 86 pitches — only 51% of them strikes — and gave up his 28th home run of the season, the most of any pitcher in the league. — Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 1 Aug. 2026 Sharks already frequent Southern California beaches, usually without bothering anyone. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026 Wasps are generally more interested in building their colony and finding food than in bothering people. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 17 July 2026 But after going ahead, England manager Thomas Tuchel tried to shut the back door by throwing on countless defenders and not bothering to attack Argentina anymore. — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 15 July 2026 As early as 2010, TV stations noticed people were sending short videos shot vertically, making some wonder why people weren’t bothering to rotate their phones. — Hernan Lopez, Variety, 10 July 2026 The only thing missing was a set of drums, and a place to bang on them without bothering anyone. — Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2026 Travis was snapped having a blast bothering Jason as the duo attended a match between Jupiter Links GC and The Bay Golf Club at SoFi Center on March 3. — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026 For now, the Royals hope to figure out exactly what’s bothering him. — Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bothering
  1. harassment
  2. worrying
  3. bugging
  4. distracting
  5. disturbance
  6. annoying
  7. irritating
  8. concerning
Noun
  • The complaint included declarations from eight other women who also described the harassment and management’s response, and estimated that the class complaint would include least 182 women.
    — Alexandra Olson, Fortune, 29 July 2026
  • The House’s post-#MeToo rule changes in 2018 clarified that members cannot pursue relationships with their own staff and created a new process for adjudicating harassment claims.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of harassment
Verb
  • This can help address the root cause of behaviors such as spending excessive time in bed awake, maintaining irregular sleep schedules, and conditioned arousal such as worrying about sleep.
    — Joan M. Cook, Time, 31 July 2026
  • Why Co-Viewing Matters Today In 2026, parents spend a lot of time worrying about screen time.
    — Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 31 July 2026
Definition of worrying
Verb
  • The necessity of the trip at all is what's been bugging me.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 12 June 2026
  • His doctor had been bugging him for years to get a colonoscopy because of his age, but Driggers declined.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 2026
Definition of bugging
Verb
  • The Art of Peripheral Focus One of the primary challenges of a 270-degree projection is ensuring the peripheral imagery enhances the experience without distracting from the central narrative.
    — Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • In the context of tens of thousands of DPS students who aren’t making gains quickly enough to ever meet proficiency levels, such fanfare is essentially distracting braggadocio.
    — Elaine Gantz Berman, Denver Post, 27 July 2026
Definition of distracting
Noun
  • Officers say the changes are aimed at addressing a recent rise in overnight disturbances while reassuring visitors and businesses that Old Sacramento remains a safe destination.
    — Ashley Sharp, CBS News, 31 July 2026
  • They are identified as brain activity accompanied with multisensory disturbances and sometimes don’t even cause the signature intense pain.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 30 July 2026
Definition of disturbance
Verb
  • 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
  • The Manchester City star is fully back to his 2024 Ballon d’Or-winning self, marshaling the middle, providing amazing connection between the front and back and even annoying the French players with some gamesmanship near the end.
    — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
Definition of annoying
Verb
  • While retinol on its own can be irritating, especially on sensitive skin, applying it as a moisturizer can help minimize irritation and soothe the skin—a genius product, IMO.
    — Anna Traver, InStyle, 31 July 2026
  • Be honest about what’s irritating or tempting you, because something’s got to give!
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026
Definition of irritating
Verb
  • Another exec from a team in need of a catcher said Goodman’s defense was so concerning that his club did not even check with the Rockies about their price.
    — Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 27 July 2026
  • The committee separately released records concerning Fauci’s awards and prize money.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 27 July 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 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of bothering for Spanish Speakers

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