adjective
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causing worry; vexing
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tending to worry
Other Word Forms
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
-some
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Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 1
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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.
Wall Street investors and private economists, meanwhile, say it would be worrisome if a president could easily remove Fed board members and influence rate decisions.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
India's ministry of external affairs later released a statement calling attacks on commercial shipping in the region "deeply worrisome".
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
It’s not incredibly worrisome, just something to be mindful about when making your soup.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
If humanized, the Bowl could serve as antidote to a worrisome AI future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
What begins as a denunciation of those defending slavery somehow doubles back on itself and ends up in worrisome confusion that the matter is being talked about at all.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
