as in disturbing
causing worry or anxiety
the constant arguing is upsetting to a sensitive person like your grandmother
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of upsetting
Jonathan Vanian,zach Vallese, CNBC, 1 Apr. 2025
Someone might make the deliberate choice to not think about upsetting events.
—Gabrielle Principe, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2025
Allison Morrow, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024
Ranked in the preseason Top 25, the Jayhawks limped to a 2-6 start before upsetting 7-1 Iowa State.
—Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for upsetting
Adjective
Taking that kind of legal action carries the risk of upsetting TikTok’s giant user base and Trump, Chilson said.
—Jonathan Vanian,zach Vallese, CNBC, 1 Apr. 2025
Someone might make the deliberate choice to not think about upsetting events.
—Gabrielle Principe, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2025
Verb
Failing to do so risks upsetting a leader with a short fuse and the power to sink a company’s stock or ignite a boycott with a single social media post.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024
Ranked in the preseason Top 25, the Jayhawks limped to a 2-6 start before upsetting 7-1 Iowa State.
—Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for upsetting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upsetting
Adjective
-
Ghosts that wink could be scary but the face Sal makes is disturbing in other ways.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2025
-
In cases where advertising is inevitable, some prefer ads that appeal on a personal level over messaging that can be inappropriate or, even, disturbing and offensive.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Robertson had a good sequence throwing a big hit on Gage Goncalves and disrupting his shot attempt seconds later.—
Omar White,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Artificial intelligence is already disrupting numerous sectors across society.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The voice of Pope Francis has been such a voice—gentle, disarming, and at times, unsettling.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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These experiments busted the urban myth but also pointed to a the truth about how companies like Facebook sometimes serve up such disturbingly accurate advertisements that is much more complex, and unsettling.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Occupying and distracting the mind.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Apr. 2025
-
While most of the acting is wonderful (Wyle is predictably great, but so is just about all of the main cast), some patient-of-the-week players err towards distracting histrionics.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Trump imperils Harvard’s nonprofit status Don Ingber, a renowned biologist at Harvard, woke up this week to a troubling email.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
20 Apr. 2025
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From around 2006 to 2010, a series of major business downturns, including a bankruptcy filing and several key lawsuits, led Kinkade into a downward spiral of troubling public behavior and substance abuse.—
Gary Goldstein,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Rodin Cars The big idea behind Rodin is to build cars without bothering about vehicle regulations – in stark contrast to F1 cars, which are subject to several rules around how they're put together.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 Jan. 2025
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The city and state have also been ramping up efforts to engage troubled vagrants sleeping and sometimes bothering straphangers, connecting them with services and shelter and potentially involuntary treatment.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
27 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
This pre-dates the casual fashions that would take hold during the 1960s, eventually collapsing traditional dressiness by the 1970s, making Sumbariners and GMT Masters the thing to wear.—
Allen Farmelo,
Robb Report,
26 Dec. 2024
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Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse On March 26, a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, collapsing the bridge and killing six construction workers who were filling potholes on the span.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
26 Dec. 2024
Verb
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But the $12 billion decline in his fortune has more to do with asset shuffling than stock price movement.—
Julie Goldenberg,
Forbes,
21 Dec. 2024
-
James has been shuffling back and forth between the NBA and the G League.—
Benedict Cosgrove,
Newsweek,
19 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Upsetting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upsetting. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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