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View synonyms for

trouble

[truhb-uhl]

verb (used with object)

troubled, troubling 
  1. to disturb the mental calm and contentment of; worry; distress; agitate.

    Synonyms: , ,
    Antonyms: ,
  2. to put to inconvenience, exertion, pains, or the like.

    May I trouble you to shut the door?

  3. to cause bodily pain, discomfort, or disorder to; afflict.

    to be troubled by arthritis.

  4. to annoy, vex, or bother.

    Don't trouble her with petty complaints now.

    Synonyms: , , , , , ,
  5. to disturb, agitate, or stir up so as to make turbid, as water or wine.

    A heavy gale troubled the ocean waters.



verb (used without object)

troubled, troubling 
  1. to put oneself to inconvenience, extra effort, or the like.

  2. to be distressed or agitated mentally; worry.

    She always troubled over her son's solitariness.

noun

  1. difficulty, annoyance, or harassment.

    It would be no trouble at all to advise you.

  2. unfortunate or distressing position, circumstance, or occurrence; misfortune.

    Financial trouble may threaten security.

  3. civil disorder, disturbance, or conflict.

    political trouble in the new republic; labor troubles.

  4. a physical disorder, disease, ailment, etc.; ill health.

    heart trouble; stomach trouble.

  5. mental or emotional disturbance or distress; worry.

    Trouble and woe were her lot in life.

    Synonyms: , , , ,
  6. an instance of this.

    some secret trouble weighing on his mind; a mother who shares all her children's troubles.

  7. effort, exertion, or pains in doing something; inconvenience endured in accomplishing some action, deed, etc..

    The results were worth the trouble it took.

  8. an objectionable feature; problem; drawback.

    The trouble with your proposal is that it would be too costly to implement.

    Synonyms: , , ,
  9. something or someone that is a cause or source of disturbance, distress, annoyance, etc.

  10. a personal habit or trait that is a disadvantage or a cause of mental distress.

    His greatest trouble is oversensitivity.

  11. the Troubles,

    1. the violence and civil war in Ireland, 1920–22.

    2. the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, beginning in 1969.

trouble

/ ˈٰʌə /

noun

  1. a state or condition of mental distress or anxiety

  2. a state or condition of disorder or unrest

    industrial trouble

  3. a condition of disease, pain, or malfunctioning

    she has liver trouble

  4. a cause of distress, disturbance, or pain; problem

    what is the trouble?

  5. effort or exertion taken to do something

    he took a lot of trouble over this design

  6. liability to suffer punishment or misfortune (esp in the phrase be in trouble )

    he's in trouble with the police

  7. a personal quality that is regarded as a weakness, handicap, or cause of annoyance

    his trouble is that he's too soft

  8. (plural)

    1. political unrest or public disturbances

    2. political violence in Ireland during the 1920s or in Northern Ireland between the late 1960s and the late 1990s

  9. the condition of an unmarried girl who becomes pregnant (esp in the phrase in trouble )

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to cause trouble to; upset, pain, or worry

  2. to put oneself to inconvenience; be concerned

    don't trouble about me

  3. (intr; usually with a negative) to take pains; exert oneself

    please don't trouble to write everything down

  4. (tr) to cause inconvenience or discomfort to

    does this noise trouble you?

  5. (tr; usually passive) to agitate or make rough

    the seas were troubled

  6. (tr) to interfere with

    he wouldn't like anyone to trouble his new bicycle

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • troubledly adverb
  • troubledness noun
  • troubler noun
  • troublingly adverb
  • nontroubling adjective
  • overtrouble verb
  • self-troubled adjective
  • self-troubling adjective
  • untroubled adjective
  • ˈٰdzܲ noun
  • ˈٰdzܲ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of trouble1

First recorded in 1175–1225; (for the verb) Middle English troublen, from Old French troubler, from Vulgar Latin ٳܱܰ (unrecorded), derivative of turbulus (unrecorded) “turbid,” back formation from Latin turbulentus “restless, unruly”; noun derivative of the verb; turbulent
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Word History and Origins

Origin of trouble1

C13: from Old French troubler , from Vulgar Latin ٳܱܰ (unattested), from Late Latin ٳܰ , from turbidus confused, from turba commotion
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in trouble, pregnant out of wedlock (used as a euphemism).

In addition to the idioms beginning with trouble, also see borrow trouble; fish in troubled waters; go to the trouble; in trouble with; pour oil on troubled waters.
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Synonym Study

See care.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

It is the latest difficulty to beset the troubled giant rail infrastructure project.

From

She urged families to keep young people away from trouble and stop them from ending up with criminal records.

From

"For a long time, most ecologists didn't treat urban areas as 'natural' environments, because humans lived in them. ... If we don't believe humans are part of the natural world, we're in trouble."

From

Some believe it’s a cynical cash grab by the author’s heirs, some that it’s simply a troubling betrayal of privacy.

From

Toczylowski’s center relies on local, state and federal funding, the latter of which has been threatened — a troubling development that comedian John Oliver highlighted on his show “Last Week Tonight.”

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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