bother
[both -er]
- to give trouble to; annoy; pester; worry: His baby sister bothered him for candy.
- to bewilder; confuse: His inability to understand the joke bothered him.
- to take the trouble; trouble or inconvenience oneself: Don't bother to call. He has no time to bother with trifles.
- something troublesome, burdensome, or annoying: Doing the laundry every week can be a terrible bother.
- effort, work, or worry: Gardening takes more bother than it's worth.
- a worried or perplexed state: Don't get into such a bother about small matters.
- someone or something that bothers or annoys: My cousin is a perpetual bother to me.
- Chiefly British. (used to express mild irritation.)
Origin of bother
1710–20; orig. Hiberno-English; probably by hypercorrection from bodder, an alternate early form; origin obscure
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. harass, vex, irritate; molest, disturb.
Synonym study
1. Bother, annoy, plague, tease imply persistent interference with one's comfort or peace of mind. Bother suggests causing trouble or weariness or repeatedly interrupting in the midst of pressing duties. To annoy is to vex or irritate by bothering. Plague is a strong word, connoting unremitting annoyance and harassment. To tease is to pester, as by long-continued whining and begging.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bothered
Contemporary Examples
The speculation that the next Bond might be black has Rushbo all hot and bothered.
“We are still very girly,” Jolly said, who is not bothered by the traditionally feminine nature of the trucks they drive.
Watt never did anything to regain his position, although it bothered him for the rest of his life.
In 2005, ‘Iowa Nice’ Ernst Helped to Oust Veterans From Local Board After They Opposed Her CandidacyBen Jacobs
October 13, 2014
I agree with all commentary that says this is not a scenario where most women want to be bothered with pressure to look sexy.
It was something that bothered me a little back then, but in retrospect it was one of the biggest mistakes of the original game.
Historical Examples
Mrs. Beale remarked that it wasn't the heat that bothered us so, but the humidity.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
He was bothered, in a way, by the extreme mental caution of this fellow.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
How it bothered them to do that last thing you may well suppose!
He had been bothered by no fine qualms about abandoning herself.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
Before I was half through the dinner I wondered why I had bothered about him at all.
The UnderdogF. Hopkinson Smith
bother
- (tr) to give annoyance, pain, or trouble to; irritatehis bad leg is bothering him again
- (tr) to trouble (a person) by repeatedly disturbing; pesterstop bothering your father!
- (intr) to take the time or trouble; concern oneselfdon't bother to come with me
- (tr) to make (a person) alarmed or confusedthe thought of her husband's return clearly bothered her
- a state of worry, trouble, or confusion
- a person or thing that causes fuss, trouble, or annoyance
- informal a disturbance or fight; trouble (esp in the phrase a spot of bother)
- mainly British an exclamation of slight annoyance
Word Origin
C18: perhaps from Irish Gaelic bodhar deaf, vexed; compare Irish Gaelic buairim I vex
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bothered
bother
v.
1718, probably from Anglo-Irish pother, because its earliest use was by Irish writers Sheridan, Swift, Sterne. Perhaps from Irish bodhairim "I deafen." Related: Bothered; bothering. As a noun from 1803.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper