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
Relevance
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?
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 troubling
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2026
One of the most troubling events came in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, when Leo visited a prison.
—ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for troubling
Adjective
Every family has that one family member who’s troubling.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2026
One of the most troubling events came in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, when Leo visited a prison.
—ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
Scientists may have solved a cosmic mystery that has been troubling them since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) began observations back in 2022.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for troubling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for troubling
Adjective
-
Angels fans who had regained some faith in Yusei Kikuchi after last weekend’s encouraging start could only watch with frustration as all of that was wiped away in one disturbing inning.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Most disturbing about the Game 3 blowout was not the who, but the how.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Medieval schoolmen worrying over Aristotle could be pedants; so could cultivated female salonnières in seventeenth-century Paris.—
Clare Bucknell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The technology intentionally comes lacking a human face, and its evangelists have both over-promised regarding what the tools can do in the short term while worrying people about the long-term societal impacts.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The state’s highest court, the SJC, heard arguments in a community lawsuit filed by the Defenders and Emerald Necklace Conservancy earlier this month, and is weighing its claim that the project’s professional soccer use would illegally privatize public parkland.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
-
He was found weak and malnourished in the mountains of Ventura County — weighing only 17 pounds.—
Staff report,
Daily News,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Skeptics point out oral exams can be unsettling for students who are shy or have serious anxiety, but clarifying the format ahead of time and starting with softball questions can help, says Carolyn Aslan, who leads Cornell’s oral exam training.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
-
West Texas Intermediate crude, the American benchmark, was once again nearing $100 per barrel, an unsettling development.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Sit there like nothing is bothering you.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
-
But that doesn’t excuse failing to execute on the ABCs of lobbying — such as not bothering even to show up at a hearing on a policy the mayor considers an urgent priority.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Her Dispatch from the scene captured the moments of frightening confusion as high-ranking members of the government were whisked away from the Washington Hilton, where the event was held.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The ultimate scene packs a punch here — without spoiling things, Abigail Onwunali is particularly powerful in a role that Wilson saves till the eleventh hour, and Boone goes to places at once frightening and devastating.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Apprehensive about inconveniencing others by appointing Truss at Balmoral—a first in her 70-year reign—the monarch consulted her daughter the Princess Royal.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
9 Apr. 2026
-
And the students liked being able to listen to the material repeatedly without inconveniencing a human reader.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Troubling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/troubling. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
