adjective
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causing a great deal of trouble; worrying, upsetting, or annoying
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characterized by violence; turbulent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of troublesome
Explanation
If something is troublesome, it annoys you or gives you difficulty. Your troublesome old car, for example, might be unreliable and have a history of breaking down at the most inconvenient moments. Use the adjective troublesome to describe things — or people — that are worrisome or inconvenient. A troublesome stomach virus will keep you home from work, and a troublesome teenager is a constant source of anxiety and frustration for his parents. The word troublesome adds the suffix some, "tending to or causing," to trouble, which has a Latin Latin root, turbidare, "make trouble or make turbid." Turbid, by the way, means "muddy or full of confusion."
Vocabulary lists containing troublesome
Similes from Top AP English Exam Novels
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Sarah, Plain and Tall
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Sounder
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Troublesome bears aren’t typically relocated to another community, but 64F’s celebrity status and fan adoration convinced wildlife biologists to act otherwise.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2023
A downed bridge over Troublesome Creek cut off access for local residents, who had to seek other routes to reach their homes in Perry County.
From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2022
After fast-rising floodwaters from nearby Troublesome Creek swamped her rental trailer, Smith moved in with her mother.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 30, 2022
In 2014, Wilson gave a warm blurb to then-New York Times science journalist Nicholas Wade's book "A Troublesome Inheritance."
From Salon • Feb. 22, 2022
Troublesome as she was, though, Margaret Weylin had mellowed.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
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.
