Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

trouble

[truhb-uh l]
See more synonyms for trouble on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), trou·bled, trou·bling.
  1. to disturb the mental calm and contentment of; worry; distress; agitate.
  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.
  5. to disturb, agitate, or stir up so as to make turbid, as water or wine: A heavy gale troubled the ocean waters.
Show More
verb (used without object), trou·bled, trou·bling.
  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.
Show More
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.
  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.
  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.
Show More
Idioms
  1. in trouble, Informal. pregnant out of wedlock (used as a euphemism).
Show More

Origin of trouble

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English troublen < Old French troubler < Vulgar Latin *turbulare, derivative of *turbulus turbid, back formation from Latin turbulentus turbulent; (noun) Middle English < Middle French, derivative of troubler
Related formstrou·bled·ly, adverbtrou·bled·ness, nountrou·bler, nountrou·bling·ly, adverbnon·trou·bling, adjectiveo·ver·trou·ble, verb, o·ver·trou·bled, o·ver·trou·bling.self-trou·bled, adjectiveself-trou·bling, adjectiveun·trou·bled, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for trouble on Thesaurus.com
1. concern, upset, confuse. 4. pester, plague, fret, torment, hector, harass, badger. 12. concern, grief, agitation, care, suffering. 15. trial, tribulation, affliction, misfortune.

Synonym study

14. See care.

Antonyms

1. mollify; delight.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for troubled

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • They were both silent for a few moments; and Eudora's countenance was troubled.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • The unaccountable change in Eudora's character perplexed and troubled her.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • It was an element of spasmodic conscience than he saw here, and it troubled him.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • It troubled him—the insistent feeling of the eyes which had been upon him.

  • I was, in a manner, forced to work, yet I was uneasy and troubled in my mind.

    Biography of a Slave

    Charles Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for troubled

trouble

noun
  1. a state or condition of mental distress or anxiety
  2. a state or condition of disorder or unrestindustrial trouble
  3. a condition of disease, pain, or malfunctioningshe has liver trouble
  4. a cause of distress, disturbance, or pain; problemwhat is the trouble?
  5. effort or exertion taken to do somethinghe 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 annoyancehis trouble is that he's too soft
  8. (plural)
    1. political unrest or public disturbances
    2. the Troublespolitical 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)
Show More
verb
  1. (tr) to cause trouble to; upset, pain, or worry
  2. (intr usually with a negative and foll by about) to put oneself to inconvenience; be concerneddon't trouble about me
  3. (intr; usually with a negative) to take pains; exert oneselfplease don't trouble to write everything down
  4. (tr) to cause inconvenience or discomfort todoes this noise trouble you?
  5. (tr; usually passive) to agitate or make roughthe seas were troubled
  6. (tr) Caribbean to interfere withhe wouldn't like anyone to trouble his new bicycle
Show More
Derived Formstroubled, adjectivetroubler, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Old French troubler, from Vulgar Latin turbulāre (unattested), from Late Latin turbidāre, from turbidus confused, from turba commotion
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 troubled

adj.

in reference to waters, etc., late 14c., past participle adjective from trouble (v.).

Show More

trouble

v.

early 13c., from Old French trubler (11c.), metathesis of turbler, from Vulgar Latin *turbulare, from Late Latin turbidare "to trouble, make turbid," from Latin turbidus (see turbid). Related: Troubled; troubling.

Show More

trouble

n.

c.1200, "agitation of the mind, emotional turmoil," from Old French truble, related to trubler (see trouble (v.)). From early 15c. as "a concern, a cause for worry." The Troubles in reference to times of violence and unrest in Ireland is attested from 1880, in reference to the rebellion of 1640s.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with troubled

trouble

In addition to the idioms beginning with trouble

also see:

Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.