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View synonyms for bother

bother

[ both-er ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to annoy; give trouble to; pester:

    His little sister kept bothering him for candy.

  2. to cause unease, anxiety, or worry in (someone):

    I hadn't realized how much being in a small boat bothers me until we got into choppy waters.

    Synonyms: disturb, molest, irritate, vex, harass

  3. to bewilder; confuse:

    His inability to understand the joke bothered him.



verb (used without object)

  1. to take the trouble; trouble or inconvenience oneself:

    Don't bother to call. He has no time to bother with trifles.

noun

  1. something troublesome, burdensome, or annoying:

    Doing the laundry every week can be a terrible bother.

  2. effort, work, or worry:

    Gardening takes more bother than it's worth.

  3. a worried or perplexed state:

    Don't get into such a bother about small matters.

  4. someone or something that bothers or annoys:

    My cousin is a perpetual bother to me.

interjection

  1. Chiefly British. (used to express mild irritation.)

bother

/ ˈbɒðə /

verb

  1. tr to give annoyance, pain, or trouble to; irritate

    his bad leg is bothering him again

  2. tr to trouble (a person) by repeatedly disturbing; pester

    stop bothering your father!

  3. intr to take the time or trouble; concern oneself

    don't bother to come with me

  4. tr to make (a person) alarmed or confused

    the thought of her husband's return clearly bothered her



noun

  1. a state of worry, trouble, or confusion
  2. a person or thing that causes fuss, trouble, or annoyance
  3. informal.
    a disturbance or fight; trouble (esp in the phrase a spot of bother )

interjection

  1. an exclamation of slight annoyance

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Other Words From

  • un·both·ered adjective
  • un·both·er·ing adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bother1

First recorded in 1710–20; origin obscure; originally Hiberno-English; perhaps a hypercorrection of bodder, an alternative early form; perhaps a variant of pother ( def )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bother1

C18: perhaps from Irish Gaelic bodhar deaf, vexed; compare Irish Gaelic buairim I vex

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Synonym Study

Bother, annoy, plague, tease imply persistent interference with one's comfort or peace of mind. Bother suggests causing trouble or weariness or repeatedly interrupting in the midst of pressing duties. To annoy is to vex or irritate by bothering. Plague is a strong word, connoting unremitting annoyance and harassment. To tease is to provoke or irritate persistently with petty distractions.

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Example Sentences

The seagulls expected to clean up the rest were also scared off, but the remaining pieces were so small that it would not have been worth the bother anyway, he added.

Musk says he wants to provide a “superintelligence layer” in the human brain to help protect us from artificial intelligence, and Zuckerberg reportedly wants users to upload their thoughts and emotions over the internet without the bother of typing.

I would go from being a charmingly eccentric bohemian to being a monstrously crass bother.

From Vox

But if the goal is to not interact with people, why bother going to a bar in the first place?

A soldier asks all the men to come off the bus, but only half do, and he decides not to bother with rest.

There are no signs of any police—why would the traffic cops bother, there is no one to fine and demand bribes from?

Since there's a near infinite number of possible exercises, Amiigo doesn't bother trying to categorize them ahead of time.

As mildly irritating as David Tseng may be, he is not someone who troubles me enough to even bother with.

But I don't suppose Weston would bother spreading the tails out when he sat down.

Great tracts of land in this part of the State are out of date, and more bother than they are worth, anywhere.

Baroudi would probably never think of her as Englishmen thought of her, would never "bother about" her age.

He ceased to bother his brain with Bascomb and his affairs, wrapping himself completely in the noble work of the roadster.

And a drop of poteen is a wonderful thing to drive away the melancholy thoughts that haunt and bother so many of us.

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tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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