trouble
to disturb the mental calm and contentment of; worry; distress; agitate.
to put to inconvenience, exertion, pains, or the like: May I trouble you to shut the door?
to cause bodily pain, discomfort, or disorder to; afflict: to be troubled by arthritis.
to annoy, vex, or bother: Don't trouble her with petty complaints now.
to disturb, agitate, or stir up so as to make turbid, as water or wine: A heavy gale troubled the ocean waters.
to put oneself to inconvenience, extra effort, or the like.
to be distressed or agitated mentally; worry: She always troubled over her son's solitariness.
difficulty, annoyance, or harassment: It would be no trouble at all to advise you.
unfortunate or distressing position, circumstance, or occurrence; misfortune: Financial trouble may threaten security.
civil disorder, disturbance, or conflict: political trouble in the new republic; labor troubles.
a physical disorder, disease, ailment, etc.; ill health: heart trouble; stomach trouble.
mental or emotional disturbance or distress; worry: Trouble and woe were her lot in life.
an instance of this: some secret trouble weighing on his mind; a mother who shares all her children's troubles.
effort, exertion, or pains in doing something; inconvenience endured in accomplishing some action, deed, etc.: The results were worth the trouble it took.
an objectionable feature; problem; drawback: The trouble with your proposal is that it would be too costly to implement.
something or someone that is a cause or source of disturbance, distress, annoyance, etc.
a personal habit or trait that is a disadvantage or a cause of mental distress: His greatest trouble is oversensitivity.
the Troubles,
the violence and civil war in Ireland, 1920–22.
the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, beginning in 1969.
Idioms about trouble
in trouble, Informal. pregnant out of wedlock (used as a euphemism).
Origin of trouble
1synonym study For trouble
Other words for trouble
1 | concern, upset, confuse |
4 | pester, plague, fret, torment, hector, harass, badger |
12 | concern, grief, agitation, care, suffering |
15 | trial, tribulation, affliction, misfortune |
Opposites for trouble
Other words from trouble
- trou·bled·ly, adverb
- trou·bled·ness, noun
- troubler, noun
- trou·bling·ly, adverb
- non·trou·bling, adjective
- o·ver·trou·ble, verb, o·ver·trou·bled, o·ver·trou·bling.
- self-troubled, adjective
- self-troubling, adjective
- un·trou·bled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use trouble in a sentence
Even losses in the low double-digit billions will spell trouble for the insurance industry, according to Credit Suisse analysts.
Insurers are getting nervous as Hurricane Laura is set to make landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm | Jeremy Kahn | August 26, 2020 | FortuneTwo trials by Johns Hopkins University researchers have also had trouble attracting patients to participate, which has pushed back the delivery of results.
Trump’s push to approve COVID-19 convalescent plasma treatment could delay efforts to better understand it | Claire Zillman, reporter | August 24, 2020 | FortuneApple has said Epic made trouble for itself by offering customers a way to directly buy items for Fortnite and circumvent the App Store fees.
Apple fires back at Epic Games, saying it sought ‘side’ deal on Fortnite fee | Verne Kopytoff | August 21, 2020 | FortuneKohl’s sales fell 23% in its recently finished second quarter, but the retailer’s chief executive sees a lot of opportunity in the even bigger troubles many of its rivals are facing.
Why Kohl’s CEO thinks the retailer can win market share amid the COVID carnage | Phil Wahba | August 18, 2020 | FortuneFor London, England-based freelance creative director Belen Wilson, the trouble won’t be virtual learning but figuring out childcare once school is over as there won’t be after school programs this fall.
‘They need to model empathy’: Agency workers prepare for the start to a most unusual school year | Kristina Monllos | August 18, 2020 | Digiday
Instead, spa hotels filled up with over 30,000 refugees from the war-troubled Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
But South Koreans have a troubled history with American intervention in Korean markets.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea | Rich Goldstein | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey wrote about subjects that they knew intimately, or that troubled or fascinated them, which is what all novelists do.
But after a troubled history with alcohol, some tribes are wary.
Tribes to U.S. Government: Take Your Weed and Shove It | Abby Haglage | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYet here we are, dispensing another dollop of inhumanity to some of the most troubled and despised people in America.
My entrails were troubled in seeking her: therefore shall I possess a good possession.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousA physician was troubled to remember on which side of the heart are the “mitral valves.”
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)The suggestion seemed a likely one, so I interrupted the flow of Elmer's troubled thoughts to say good-night, and went out.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson LloydThe courts have been often troubled about the degree of care required of bailees, as it differs under varying circumstances.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesFear ye not, neither be ye troubled from that time I have made thee to hear, and have declared: you are my witnesses.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
British Dictionary definitions for trouble
/ (ˈtrʌbəl) /
a state or condition of mental distress or anxiety
a state or condition of disorder or unrest: industrial trouble
a condition of disease, pain, or malfunctioning: she has liver trouble
a cause of distress, disturbance, or pain; problem: what is the trouble?
effort or exertion taken to do something: he took a lot of trouble over this design
liability to suffer punishment or misfortune (esp in the phrase be in trouble): he's in trouble with the police
a personal quality that is regarded as a weakness, handicap, or cause of annoyance: his trouble is that he's too soft
(plural)
political unrest or public disturbances
the Troubles political violence in Ireland during the 1920s or in Northern Ireland between the late 1960s and the late 1990s
the condition of an unmarried girl who becomes pregnant (esp in the phrase in trouble)
(tr) to cause trouble to; upset, pain, or worry
(intr usually with a negative and foll by about) to put oneself to inconvenience; be concerned: don't trouble about me
(intr; usually with a negative) to take pains; exert oneself: please don't trouble to write everything down
(tr) to cause inconvenience or discomfort to: does this noise trouble you?
(tr; usually passive) to agitate or make rough: the seas were troubled
(tr) Caribbean to interfere with: he wouldn't like anyone to trouble his new bicycle
Origin of trouble
1Derived forms of trouble
- troubled, adjective
- troubler, noun
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with trouble
In addition to the idioms beginning with trouble
- trouble one's head with
- trouble someone for
also see:
- borrow trouble
- fish in troubled waters
- go to the trouble
- in trouble with
- pour oil on troubled waters
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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