distempering

verb

present participle of distemper
as in bothering
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy despite his career success, he has been distempered by nagging feelings of inadequacy his whole life

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for distempering
  1. bothering
  2. distracting
  3. disturbing
  4. concerning
  5. alarming
  6. worrying
  7. unsettling
  8. agitating
Verb
  • 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
Definition of bothering
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
Verb
  • Harper’s left behind records detailing disturbing behavior that seem not to have been based in fact.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 30 July 2026
  • Out of competition The world of elite sports is taken to disturbing new heights full of brutality and painful ambition in the new film from Nikias Chryssos (The Bunker, Rave On, A Pure Place).
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 July 2026
Definition of disturbing
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
Verb
  • In Orange County, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County maintains infectious-disease surveillance and disease-reporting services for residents and visitors, which is exactly how local systems stay ready without alarming the public.
    — Luis E. Caso Vega, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 July 2026
  • So, even just the unusual presence of an aircraft in this area made this incident alarming for one resident, Anna, who spoke to CNN near the scene.
    — Steven Jiang, CNN Money, 26 June 2026
Definition of alarming
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
  • When an accident brings the enigmatic Gaia into their lives, unexpected desires begin to take shape, unsettling the careful balance that has long defined their relationship.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 July 2026
  • The paper shared the accounts of three women who had dated Platner within the past fifteen years and had found his behavior unsettling.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 7 July 2026
Definition of unsettling
Verb
  • Kucherov’s 51 points in 42 career regular-season games and agitating awesomeness against Florida have him at the top of the list.
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 25 July 2026
  • Washing machines take care of that with their tumbling or agitating action.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 July 2026
Definition of agitating
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.

Browse Nearby Words

distempered
distempering
distempers
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Distempering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distempering. Accessed 2 Aug. 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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All