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
Maddie Kornfeld, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
And many are asking troubling questions.
—Meg Anderson, NPR, 22 Jan. 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
This trend is troubling on several levels.
—Maddie Kornfeld, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
And many are asking troubling questions.
—Meg Anderson, NPR, 22 Jan. 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
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According to The Marshall Project, federal officers fired on at least nine people in their vehicles over a four-month period, evidence of a disturbing pattern.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
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Zhang was quickly identified as a suspect based on her allegedly increasingly disturbing behavior, according to authorities.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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There’s an absent father and a clueless, neglectful mother but the five Gilbert children — Lydia, Hugo, Annabel, Jeremy and Rosalind — are essentially raising themselves in an English country house of secret passages and worrying infestations.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
23 Jan. 2026
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Instead of worrying about learning everything about sheep, swine, alpacas, bison, or goats, focus on cattle, the true stars of the stock show.—
Sara Hansen,
Denver Post,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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According to the Times, the Met is weighing the sale after delays finalizing a deal with Saudi Arabia that would see the opera company perform in the Gulf nation three weeks each winter.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
22 Jan. 2026
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The Supreme Court is also weighing whether his tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is even constitutional.—
Jon Markman,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Its preliminary conclusions paint a stark and unsettling picture of Good’s final moments.—
Danielle Bacher,
PEOPLE,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The Upside Down itself could have begun seeping into the real world in unsettling ways.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Is a man bothering you at a bar?—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
23 Jan. 2026
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If the plaintiff can get the information from, say, an SEC filing, then the plaintiff must go that route instead of bothering the speaker.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But that depiction was picked apart by a vast array of online onlookers, from law enforcement experts to ordinary Instagram users, some of whom replayed the videos frame by frame and zoomed in to show the episode in frightening detail.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
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The news this week that CPW employees are facing a variety of threats from radical elements in both groups of Coloradans strikes us as ironic sad — and frightening.—
The Denver Post Editorial Board,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
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 28 Jan. 2026.
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