adjective
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causing worry; vexing
-
tending to worry
Other Word Forms
- worrisomely adverb
Etymology
Origin of worrisome
Explanation
If something is worrisome, it bothers or upsets you. Your nervous dog may find the sound of thunder extremely worrisome. When the news reports are full of worrisome developments — crime, climate change, local budget cuts — it can be reassuring to hear some good news, which is why many news broadcasts also include feel-good stories about lost pets reunited with their owners and kids raising money for the local library. Worrisome things do just what you'd think: they make you worry. This word first appeared around 1820 in North America, and it's been used ever since for things that cause distress.
Vocabulary lists containing worrisome
Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 1
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-some
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English Language Development Texts, Unit 3
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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.
Bass, asked about the worrisome trend, said she believes that Inside Safe participants need more services to address those issues.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
The issue is especially worrisome as Oracle grows capital expenditures to an expected $57 billion this year, partly financed with what is now $135 billion in total debt.
From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026
That’s worrisome to him, given the cost of GLP-1s — both to patients and the system — and that not all people who are currently considered overweight or obese are unhealthy.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026
A worrisome trading pattern in the roughly $30 trillion Treasury market points to concerns about the economy and inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
This was worrisome, for they marked the coming of autumn, the snows, and the white-outs.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
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.
