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bothers 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bother
1
as in annoys
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 irritates
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 worries
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 disturbs
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy the boss's cryptic message about changes to the company bothered me

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bothers

2 of 2

noun

plural of bother
1
as in stirs
a state of noisy, confused activity the whole household was in a bother, as our overnight guests were expected to arrive any minute

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2
as in nuisances
one who is obnoxiously annoying the woman next-door is such a bother—always dropping in at the most inopportune moments!

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3
as in headaches
something that is a source of irritation returning damaged goods is a real bother

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4
as in frustrations
the feeling of impatience or anger caused by another's repeated disagreeable acts never let his personal bothers interfere with his responsibilities at work

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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 bothers
Verb
What bothers Fairchild is the assumption behind it — that the dancers are voiceless and helpless. — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 Having my mother in so much of the film [is what] bothers me. — Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026 That sequencing bothers people who’ve spent careers being told that data systems need privacy protections designed in, not bolted on after a scandal. — Karl W. Bickel, Baltimore Sun, 25 Aug. 2026 Kurt's key takeaways What bothers me most about this scam is that criminals are going after people who may have the fewest options to protect themselves. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026 Pheasants are masters at running from noise and hiding in odd places where no one bothers them. — Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026 Repel Mice Ultrasonic mouse repellers emit high-frequency sound waves that humans can’t hear, but the high pitch bothers mice. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 Aug. 2026 My concern is what happens when the signal becomes so established that nobody bothers separating it from the qualities it was supposed to represent. — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026 The result is a bunch of people losing their jobs, which really bothers me. — Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Noun
Fonseca is the youngest of three bothers. — Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bothers
  1. annoys
  2. irritates
  3. worries
  4. disturbs
  5. stirs
  6. nuisances
  7. headaches
  8. frustrations
Verb
  • That very same thing is what annoys Liz about Charles 500 years later.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • But Turner is a symbol for everything that annoys people about the Phillies.
    — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of annoys
Verb
  • Knowing that Madame Lalouette’s sales numbers are too high to fire her, Carla attempts to transfer Madame Morel to a different department — a move that irritates her superiors and highlights her weakness.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
  • With contact dermatitis, a product like a soap or chemical irritates the skin or causes an allergic reaction, leading to symptoms like itching, discoloration, swelling, or even blisters.
    — Ayren Jackson-Cannady, Allure, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of irritates
Verb
  • Ortega worries about what happens to the children left behind.
    — Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
  • While her family loves the sport, the Baldwin City resident often worries about her kids playing in high temperatures.
    — Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of worries
Verb
  • That disturbs Masters, an auto mechanic who moved out of the mobile home park before the 2021 floods.
    — Ren Larson, ProPublica, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Traffic between somebody else's router and somebody else's laptop, say in a random coffee shop or an airport, can provide the radio field that your body disturbs to create your specific signature.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of disturbs
Noun
  • Refrigerated pie crust helps this pie come together with just a few stirs of the whisk.
    — Patricia S York, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
Definition of stirs
Noun
  • The petition sought to classify data centers as industrial nuisances, arguing that a ban would protect residents’ property and preserve city resources, such as water and electricity.
    — Cuyler Dunn, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The number of bears killed by motor vehicle strikes, euthanized as nuisances because of conflicts with humans or poached in the Central Florida region over the past decade total about 1,900.
    — Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of nuisances
Noun
  • Those with the condition, which was eventually named Minamata disease, had symptoms including tremors, headaches, seizures, vision and hearing problems, ataxia, dysarthria, memory loss, and cognitive decline.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Patients may experience a very high fever, headaches, neck pain, stupor, disorientation, muscle weakness and other serious symptoms.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of headaches
Noun
  • The past few weeks have seen the former host of To Catch a Predator repeatedly voice his frustrations with Oppenheim’s Primetime, A24’s dark thriller that will explore the origins of Hansen’s controversial Dateline segment.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The festering frustrations over Moreno’s meddling and middling tenure as owner were on full display throughout what is now the team’s 11th consecutive losing season.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of frustrations

Browse Nearby Words

bothering
bothers
bothersome
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Cite this Entry

“Bothers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bothers. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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