1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 goal is not to solve what’s bothering you but to let the thoughts move through. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bothering
  1. harassment
  2. worrying
  3. bugging
  4. distracting
  5. disturbance
  6. pestering
  7. annoying
  8. concerning
Noun
  • Eckhart disputed the network’s explanation and alleged she was fired in retaliation for raising concerns about harassment and a toxic workplace.
    — Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Some incidents of harassment against tribal spearers still occur every season in the area.
    — Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of harassment
Verb
  • Read more here from CNBC's Sean Conlon on what's worrying traders even as the market surges.
    — Sean Conlon,Jenni Reid,Justina Lee,Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026
  • In her interview with LaFrance, Swisher also discussed the economic implications of the AI race, who is likely to win, and how Americans can respond to this dizzying and worrying AI moment.
    — Victoria Feng, The Atlantic, 19 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 result is a safer-phone category that already spans traditional feature phones, minimalist devices and smartphones that have been deliberately stripped of distracting features.
    — Ashley Lynch, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Schedule time away from distracting apps If certain times of day are your weak spot, Downtime can help.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of distracting
Noun
  • One study links living near new Kern County oil and gas wells to higher infection risk, while massive housing and solar construction promise more soil disturbance and airborne, infectious dust.
    — Susanne Rust Follow, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • At first, Lara seems like a disturbance in Ruby’s fantasy of private election.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 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
  • That’s carried over into the first three games, a concerning trend for the Patriots.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The latest OpenAI incidents did not appear to involve the disclosure of any non-public information but were concerning enough for the company to warn the federal agencies involved.
    — Bernard Condon, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of concerning

Browse Nearby Words

bothered
bothering
bothers
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bothering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bothering. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of argot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All