Synonyms of upsetting

upsetting 1 of 2

adjective

(ˌ)əp-ˈse-tiŋ 

as in disturbing

causing worry or anxiety

the constant arguing is upsetting to a sensitive person like your grandmother

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disturbing
• unsettling
• troubling
• frightening
• scary
• troublesome
• distressing
• nasty
• worrisome
• disquieting
• perturbing
• shocking
• horrible
• terrible
• terrifying
• discomforting
• nagging
• discouraging
• troublous
• disconcerting
• dismaying
• disheartening
• demoralizing
• discomposing
• daunting
• dire
• alarming
• fearful
• dreadful
• discomfiting
• dread
• chilling
• direful
• horrifying
• dispiriting
• forbidding
• formidable
• intimidating
• ghastly
• fearsome
• harassing
• horrendous
• frightful
• persecutory
• persecutive
• hair-raising

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassuring
• settling
• calming
• soothing
• comforting
• relaxing
• dreamy
• narcotic
• sedative
• inviting
• quieting
• tranquilizing
• consoling
• lulling
• pacifying

upsetting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of upset

1

as in alarming

to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy

the smallest things can upset us if we're already stressed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disturbing
• alarming
• distracting
• bothering
• worrying
• concerning
• angering
• unsettling
• distressing
• agitating
• dismaying
• haunting
• annoying
• discomforting
• disquieting
• perturbing
• plaguing
• irritating
• confusing
• derailing
• embarrassing
• undoing
• unhinging
• ailing
• exercising
• rattling
• exasperating
• aggravating
• fussing
• freaking (out)
• bugging
• discouraging
• harassing
• discomposing
• frazzling
• irking
• vexing
• distempering
• flurrying
• weirding out
• hagriding
• disconcerting
• riling
• galling
• pestering
• jarring
• nettling
• mortifying
• discomfiting
• disheartening
• harrying
• unnerving
• fretting
• confounding
• grating
• chafing
• piquing
• bedeviling
• daunting
• demoralizing
• peeving
• getting
• putting off
• dispiriting
• flustering
• putting out
• chivying
• discountenancing
• shaking up
• nonplussing
• fazing
• abashing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• calming
• soothing
• quieting
• settling
• composing
• alleviating
• allaying
• tranquilizing
• appeasing
• pacifying
• placating
• assuaging
• conciliating
• mollifying
• propitiating

2

as in overturning

to turn on one's side or upside down

the narrow boat upsets easily and should be handled with care

Synonyms & Similar Words

• overturning
• capsizing
• collapsing
• falling
• keeling
• turning over
• toppling
• upending
• tilting
• tipping
• inverting
• turning turtle
• overthrowing
• leaning
• listing
• oversetting
• careening
• heeling
• tumping (over)
• pitchpoling
• giving
• foundering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• righting
• raising
• standing up
• straightening (up)
• erecting

3

as in disrupting

to undo the proper order or arrangement of

the change in the bus schedule upset our daily routine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disrupting
• disturbing
• confusing
• shuffling
• disorganizing
• disarranging
• dislocating
• scrambling
• jumbling
• disordering
• muddling
• deranging
• mixing (up)
• tousling
• mussing
• snarling
• tumbling
• disarraying
• hashing
• unsettling
• disjointing
• disheveling
• discomposing
• tangling
• perturbing
• messing (up)
• rumpling
• embroiling
• stirring (up)
• cluttering
• entangling
• agitating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• regulating
• disposing
• ordering
• organizing
• arranging
• ranging
• straightening (up)
• tidying
• adjusting
• aligning
• drawing up
• classifying
• lining
• marshaling
• arraying
• queuing
• lining up
• systematizing
• fixing
• codifying
• grooming
• making up
• methodizing
• systemizing
• sprucing (up)
• unscrambling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of upsetting

Adjective

This behavior isn’t just irritating or upsetting. — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026

These little monsters are cute in perhaps a beautifully upsetting way, which is just my kind of thing, honestly. — Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 9 June 2026

Verb

As the 32nd and last seed, the Kaulig Racing driver made an improbably flamboyant run to a runner-up finish while upsetting Hamlin and 2012 champion Brad Keselowski. — ABC News, 27 June 2026

There were so many ways to do it without upsetting the people who were waiting to be upset. — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 24 June 2026