fuss

[fuhs]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fuss ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an excessive display of anxious attention or activity; needless or useless bustle: They made a fuss over the new baby.

an argument or noisy dispute: They had a fuss about who should wash dishes.

a complaint or protest, especially about something relatively unimportant.

verb (used without object)

to make a fuss; make much ado about trifles: You'll never finish the job if you fuss over details.

to complain especially about something relatively unimportant.

verb (used with object)

to disturb, especially with trifles; annoy; bother.

Origin of fuss

First recorded in 1695–1705; origin uncertain

Related formsfuss·er, nounun·fussed, adjectiveun·fuss·ing, adjective

Synonyms for fuss

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fuss ON THESAURUS.COM

1. pother, to-do, stir, commotion. 6. pester.

Antonyms for fuss

1. inactivity.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for fussed

curse, annoy, fuss, tease, pester, scold, irritate, berate, hector, irk, torment, vex, hound, badger, fume, seethe, simmer, boil, fret, moan

Examples from the Web for fussed

Contemporary Examples of fussed

All the things you were fussed about in the last six months?
When Activism Is Worse Than Apathy
Nancy Kaffer
October 6, 2014
Presently he dropped his hammer, and fussed about for a moment with a tiny wrench.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show
Robert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014

Historical Examples of fussed

She fussed around like any other old hen who had in charge a brood of ducks.
In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories
Robert Barr
But when 'twas put right up to me this way, I—I declare I was all fussed up.
The Woman-Haters
Joseph C. Lincoln
"They needn't have been so fussed," said Stephen, with a grin.
Steve and the Steam Engine
Sara Ware Bassett
He reared and fussed and said he didn't want that mess on him.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States
Work Projects Administration
No one had fussed over him like that since his mother died, and he was touchingly grateful.
Quin
Alice Hegan Rice

British Dictionary definitions for fussed

fuss

noun

nervous activity or agitation, esp when disproportionate or unnecessary

complaint or objectionhe made a fuss over the bill

an exhibition of affection or admiration, esp if excessivethey made a great fuss over the new baby

a quarrel; dispute

verb

(intr) to worry unnecessarily

(intr) to be excessively concerned over trifles

(when intr, usually foll by over) to show great or excessive concern, affection, etc (for)

(intr foll by with) Jamaican to quarrel violently

(tr) to bother (a person)

Derived Formsfusser, noun

Word Origin for fuss

C18: of uncertain origin

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

Word Origin and History for fussed

fuss

1701, perhaps an alteration of force, or imitative of bubbling or sputtering sounds, or from Danish fjas "foolery, nonsense." First attested in Anglo-Irish writers, but no obvious connections to Irish. To make a fuss was earlier to keep a fuss (1726).

fuss

1792, from fuss (n.). Related: Fussed; fussing.

Idioms and Phrases with fussed

fuss

In addition to the idiom beginning with fuss

fuss and feathers

also see:

kick up a fuss
make a fuss