as in disturbing
causing worry or anxiety
the most troubling sign of all is that he's stopped returning my phone calls
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in worrying
to experience concern or anxiety
don't trouble about me—I'll be fine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weighing
to cause discomfort to or trouble for
I hate to trouble you, but would you mind moving for a minute so I can sweep under your chair?
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of troubling
NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
The list of troubling trends among LGBTQ+ teens and young adults is rising at alarming levels compared to 2024, a new survey finds.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Yet most fans do not care unduly about what a squad costs and while sound financial management is welcomed, the strength of the team is the thing that is troubling them right now.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for troubling
Adjective
The scrutiny is especially troubling to many public health authorities, coming amid new outbreaks of diseases like measles and whooping cough.
—NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
The list of troubling trends among LGBTQ+ teens and young adults is rising at alarming levels compared to 2024, a new survey finds.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
China is poised to win great swathes of the booming European EV market and that is troubling the automakers.
—Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Yet most fans do not care unduly about what a squad costs and while sound financial management is welcomed, the strength of the team is the thing that is troubling them right now.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for troubling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for troubling
Adjective
-
Despite already having declared her candidacy, McKnight voiced disturbing and violent threats against Sheehy.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
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This story contains a description of a shooting some readers may find disturbing.—
Omar Jimenez,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Despite some investors worrying about an AI bubble, the gusher of data center spending has not relented, supporting our thesis in Cisco.—
Kevin Stankiewicz,
CNBC,
9 Nov. 2025
-
This movie was when many started worrying.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Just a few months ago, McKenna was weighing the two schools against each other, the Spartans finishing as runners-up in his historic recruiting war.—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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Lawmakers are still weighing the costs to the state of doing so and have yet to decide on an approach, House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, told the Idaho Statesman.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Compared to the swooning Gothic romance of Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, Kenneth Branagh’s Frankenstein is just too perverse — in an unsettling way.—
Katie Rife,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
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At the same time, the detective assigned to the case begins to uncover secrets about Scout, along with an unsettling breakthrough in Georgia’s death.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
If something’s bothering you, say so.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
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Saft, not bothering to remove his sneakers, leaped onto a chair to place an ornate gold mirror over the mantelpiece.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Because to accept Douglas Kelley's conclusions that the capacity for the most unspeakable atrocity is latent in our own reality is shockingly quotidian and perhaps too frightening to hear; a responsibility too terrible to accept and yet too prescient to ignore.—
NPR,
NPR,
11 Nov. 2025
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The 3-point shooting won’t hold, but even being around the top 10 in accuracy would make this scary Rockets squad even more frightening.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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No one forced them to expand to the West Coast, inconveniencing coaches, players and fans of 14 other schools.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
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Need someone to absorb your wife’s anger over that extramarital affair without inconveniencing your mistress?—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Troubling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/troubling. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.
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