Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective distressing, worrying
  • verb Present participle of trouble.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective causing distress or worry or anxiety

Etymologies

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Examples

  • He was already preparing for a possible war with Iraq when he got what he called the troubling news about North Korea's nuclear program.

    CNN Transcript Oct 19, 2002 2002

  • One of Perry's rivals, businessman Herman Cain, called the use of the name troubling.

    KansasCity.com: Front Page 2011

  • In June 2010, I wrote in this space about a book, "The New Jim Crow," by Michelle Alexander, which I called a "troubling and profoundly necessary" work.

    The Seattle Times 2012

  • Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sharply criticized what she called "troubling practices" before and during the vote in

    NYT > Home Page By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ 2011

  • Finn had acknowledged a month earlier that he had known about suspected pornographic images of children on Ratigan's computer since December, when a technician found hundreds of what he called "troubling images" on the priest's laptop.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • Lawsky says the agreements go a long way to clean up what he calls troubling practices in the mortgage industry.

    KansasCity.com: Front Page 2011

  • Whats even more troubling is the fact that any pictures were on there to begin with.

    Best Buy Loaner Phone Filled With Pornography - The Consumerist 2009

  • This magazine's behind the curveJust as Beautiful – "The new lifestyle magazine for curvy women" – is troubling from the start.

    Why Ed reminds women of every bad ex-boyfriend Barbara Ellen 2010

  • What's most troubling is not that this $65 tome may be on the wine shelf at Borders, but that it is the primary text book for teaching young chefs and sommeliers about the world of wine.

    Wine: What Virginia and Maryland are up against Dave McIntyre 2010

  • Equally troubling is the fact that this bill singles out the Roman Catholic Church.

    The State of Connecticut attacks the Catholic Church 2009

Comments

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  • A school of goldfish

    November 16, 2007

  • In the language of international diplomacy, this means outrageous or gubu.

    E.g. "Chinese ministerial sources expressed regret at the outcome of the Taiwanese election, which they described as a troubling development."

    November 16, 2007

  • See aboiement (if you're looking for a reason why it's on the Reesetee list).

    January 5, 2008