unbothered

Unbothered means not experiencing any discomfort—physically, emotionally, or in another other way. If you’re unbothered, nothing is bothering you.

To be bothered by something is to be worried about it or to feel discomfort from it in some way.

Unbothered is especially used in the context of things that could hurt or bother a person but don’t, as in I’m unbothered by the pain, honestly—it’s the waiting that gets to me.

Unbothered is also commonly used in a more informal way to mean completely unaffected by or indifferent to a bad or difficult situation or poor treatment, such as criticism or negative comments. In this way, it means something like nonchalant, as in You seem so unbothered—how can you be so chill about it?

Unbothered can be followed by the source of the discomfort, as in He seems unbothered by the attention, or it can be used by itself, as in He seems completely unbothered. 

Example: Although Sarah desperately wanted the promotion, she did her best to seem unbothered when it was awarded to Jack.

The first records of the word unbothered come from around 1900. The prefix un– means “not.” Though the word bothered can be used as an adjective or as the past tense of the verb bother, unbothered is only ever used as an adjective.

When someone is described with the more informal sense of unbothered, it implies that they are remaining completely confident and carefree in spite of whatever nonsense is happening or being thrown their way. When someone is unbothered in this way, nothing gets to them. Insults bounce right off of them. Oh, you’re trying to get a rise out of them? They didn’t even notice. Because they’re unbothered.

Of course, while some people are truly unbothered by criticism or negative comments, others simply pretend to be unbothered so as not to encourage such treatment.

What are some synonyms for unbothered?

• undisturbed
• unperturbed
• unconcerned
• indifferent
• nonchalant

What are some words that share a root or word element with unbothered? 

• bothered
• bother
• bothersome
• botheration

What are some words that often get used in discussing unbothered?

• completely
• remain
• seem
• pain
• discomfort
• feeling
• worry

Unbothered is usually used in a positive way in admiration of someone who’s able to keep it together despite a difficult situation, poor treatment, or pain.

Train yourself to remain unbothered by things that don't affect your ultimate goal and you'll find that it's easier to take each step towards your objective. But first you must define your goals. Then you must resolve to stop using daily distractions as excuses to not reach them.

— Shakira Sison (@shakirasison) April 25, 2018

Sometimes growth is being unbothered by people who refuse to see the new you and try to trigger the old you.

— Inner Practitioner (@MindTendencies2) July 17, 2020

i’m so unbothered that i leave my phone in do not disturb the entire day

— ryan (@ryanmikeanton) July 17, 2020

Which of the following words is an antonym (opposite) of unbothered?

A. agitated
B. nonchalant
C. aloof
D. unconcerned