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

One day, during my visit, Cole used a step stool to access a small cubbyhole in a high corner of a bedroom wall—a sort of illogical nook that seemed preordained to house some private, upsetting object. — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026

Kelly and Gallen were disappointing, but perhaps more upsetting was the fact that the Diamondbacks had no choice but to give them start after start. — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Verb

More pragmatic figures in the establishment accuse these hard-liners of upsetting the country’s social peace with needless political repression, and by seeking to micromanage the lifestyles of ordinary people. — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026

But his mental anguish is upsetting the balance of his cross-species DNA, first with paralyzing headaches and gradually with an internal battle as his arachnid side starts overpowering his human side. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 July 2026