: causing worry : creating reason for worry : troubling
a worrying trend/development
a worrying question
The presence of the knife on the stage of the murder was a worrying circumstance for Wilson.—
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
worryingly
adverb
When the secretary returned, she handed us an envelope that looked worryingly official …
—Caroline Alexander
Caroline Alexander
… money held by households has risen at a worryingly slow rate over the past year …
—The Economist
The Economist
Examples of worrying in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Chicago Bears defense continued a worrying trend heading into the playoffs, allowing an opponent more than 400 yards of offense for a second straight week.
—Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026
If true, then such an occurrence would be very worrying for Taiwanese defense forcesm notably how this could happen in the first place.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 3 Jan. 2026
From ‘talent crunch’ to productivity and AI execution The economy (56%) and inflation (53%) top the CFO respondents’ list of the most worrying external risks this quarter.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 17 Dec. 2025
Perhaps most worrying, said former NRC Chair Macfarlane, is how the DOE's safety assessment might be used to build more small reactors across the country, once the pilot reactors are built.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for worrying
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Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026
If true, then such an occurrence would be very worrying for Taiwanese defense forcesm notably how this could happen in the first place.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 3 Jan. 2026
From ‘talent crunch’ to productivity and AI execution The economy (56%) and inflation (53%) top the CFO respondents’ list of the most worrying external risks this quarter.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 17 Dec. 2025
Perhaps most worrying, said former NRC Chair Macfarlane, is how the DOE's safety assessment might be used to build more small reactors across the country, once the pilot reactors are built.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for worrying
Cite this Entry
“Worrying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worrying. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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