upset

American  

[uhp-set, uhp-set] / ʌpˈsɛt, ˈʌpˌsɛt /

verb (used with object)

• upsets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• upset,
  past participle,  past
• upsetting
  present participle

1. to overturn.

   to upset a pitcher of milk.

2. to disturb mentally or emotionally; perturb.

   The incident upset her.

   Synonyms:

   fluster, disconcert, unnerve

   Antonyms:

   steady

3. to disturb or derange completely; put out of order; throw into disorder.

   to upset a system; to upset a mechanism; to upset an apartment.

   Antonyms:

   steady

4. to disturb physically.

   It upset his stomach.

5. to defeat or overthrow an opponent that is considered more formidable, as in war, politics, or sports.

   Synonyms:

   displace, depose

6. Metalworking. to thicken the end of (a piece of heated metal) by hammering on the end against the length of the piece.

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verb (used without object)

• upsets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• upset,
  past participle,  past
• upsetting
  present participle

1. to become upset or overturned.

noun

• upsets
  plural

1. an upsetting or instance of being upset; overturn; overthrow.

2. the defeat of a person, team, etc., that is considered more formidable.

3. a nervous, irritable state of mind.

   Synonyms:

   disturbance, perturbation

4. a disordered or confused arrangement.

   Synonyms:

   mess

5. Metalworking.

   1. a tool used for upsetting.

   2. something that is upset, as a bar end.

adjective

1. overturned.

   an upset milk pail.

2. disordered; disorganized.

   The house is upset.

3. distressed; disturbed.

   She had an upset stomach. He is emotionally upset.

   Synonyms:

   annoyed, agitated, disconcerted

4. Archaic. raised up.

upset British  

verb

1. (also intr) to tip or be tipped over; overturn, capsize, or spill

2. to disturb the normal state, course, or stability of

   to upset the balance of nature

3. to disturb mentally or emotionally

4. to defeat or overthrow, usually unexpectedly

5. to make physically ill

   seafood always upsets my stomach

6. to thicken or spread (the end of a bar, rivet, etc) by forging, hammering, or swagging

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noun

1. an unexpected defeat or reversal, as in a contest or plans

2. a disturbance or disorder of the emotions, body, etc

3. a tool used to upset a bar or rivet; swage

4. a forging or bar that has been upset in preparation for further processing

adjective

1. overturned or capsized

2. emotionally or physically disturbed or distressed

3. disordered; confused

4. defeated or overthrown

Synonym Usage

Upset, capsize, overturn imply a change from an upright or other stable position to a prostrate one. Upset is a familiar word, applied to simple, everyday actions: to upset a table, a glass of water. Capsize is applied especially to the upsetting of a boat or other vessel: to capsize a canoe. Overturn usually suggests violence in upsetting something supposedly stable: The earthquake overturned houses. All three are used figuratively, also: to upset the stock market; to capsize a plan; to overturn a government.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• upsetter
  noun
• unupset
  adjective
• unupsettable
  adjective
• upsettable
  adjective
• upsetting
  adjective
• upsettingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• upsets
  plural

Participles

• upsetting
  present
• upset
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• upset
  simple
• upsets
  simple
• have upset
  perfect
• has upset
  perfect
• am upsetting
  progressive
• are upsetting
  progressive
• is upsetting
  progressive
• have been upsetting
  perfect progressive
• has been upsetting
  perfect progressive

Past

• upset
  simple
• had upset
  perfect
• was upsetting
  progressive
• were upsetting
  progressive
• had been upsetting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will upset
  simple
• will have upset
  perfect
• will be upsetting
  progressive
• will have been upsetting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of upset

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English: “raised up”; see up-, set

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Explanation

To be upset is to be disturbed or very unhappy. You can be upset, and you can also upset someone — but you probably didn’t mean to. Upset has multiple senses. It generally refers to something that has been knocked over, turned upside down, or disturbed. Just as your coffee cup can be upset — knocked over or disturbed –- so can your emotions –- and your stomach. Upset can also refer to an unexpected victory. You might be so upset by the upset of your favorite team that you upset your table in frustration.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

upset upsets upsetting

Heathcote senior will be at League One side Mansfield on Saturday where he hopes to watch Sam - who works as a teacher in Altrincham - pull off another upset for Macclesfield.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

One of the club's most legendary figures, he believes they can inspire the current team to pull off another upset against League One Notts County, despite being separated by two divisions.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

Mayli Hernandez had 22 kills in the fourth-seeded Toreadors’ five-set semifinal upset of No. 1 Venice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

“Why am I going to spend my time watching something that makes me upset or brings me down?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

“Andrew, listen to me. You’re fine. You weren’t in your head right then, okay? I came in too fast. I will never, ever be upset by that.”

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

Texas, a long-time Republican stronghold, was the site of one of the most stunning upsets in the vote, with the state electing its first Latina governor, Gina Hinojosa, as the first Democrat governor since 1995.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

In college football’s very recent history, Saturday’s run of upsets would have put each losing program’s national title hopes on life support—and knocked the two-loss teams, Texas and Alabama, out of the running altogether.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

"One of the breaking points of supply chain in aviation is you have very few companies qualified to do something and, when something goes wrong, it really upsets the entire system."

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

They were painstakingly close to achieving one of the tournament's great upsets against Argentina, leading 2-0 with just minutes left to play before the defending champions staged an astonishing 3-2 comeback win.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

And one of them says, "I am so upset, I am just so upset! And the thing that upsets me the most is that I'm so upset!"

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

As Eisenberg patched together old plot with new, she says, “they had to leave out a lot of stuff I did with Woody and that was upsetting because it was so fun to shoot.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Watching a loved one descend into dementia is an extremely upsetting, traumatic and powerless place to be.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

"So when we do see those negative headlines, it can be quite upsetting."

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

"It was extremely upsetting... I saw a police car. I went over and told them what had happened. They said they didn't have the authority to do anything."

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

“It’s fine that you didn’t find it very upsetting, Robert, but that doesn’t mean Ben didn’t,” he said.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

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Related Words

• agitate
• bewilder
• dismay
• distract
• disturb
• perturb
• unnerve
• unsettle

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