upsetting

adjective

up·​set·​ting (ˌ)əp-ˈse-tiŋ 

: mentally or emotionally troubling or disturbing : causing feelings of worry or anxiety

heard some upsetting news

an upsetting experience

We're up to [a deficit of] $1.5 trillion a year …. These numbers are truly upsetting.

—Bill Gates

Professors issue, or students demand, trigger warnings when presenting material that might be upsetting to some: depictions of rape, sexism, racism, suicide.

—Yvonne Abraham

upsettingly adverb

an upsettingly graphic depiction of violence

In comparison to male historical figures, the number of women that we learn about throughout school is upsettingly low.

—Alexis Gardner

Synonyms

• discomforting
• discomposing
• disquieting
• distressing
• disturbing
• nagging
• nasty
• perturbing
• troublesome
• troubling
• troublous
• unsettling
• worrisome

Examples of upsetting in a Sentence

the constant arguing is upsetting to a sensitive person like your grandmother

Recent Examples on the Web

Since October, the Vance edits have only become sweatier, more surreal, more upsetting to behold. —Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025

Meanwhile, recurring dreams that are upsetting can leave you with an emotional hangover the next day. —Stacey Colino, TIME, 4 Mar. 2025

Fonseca has been the talk of the tennis world, having won the Next Gen ATP Finals in December, upsetting Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open and earning his first tour-level title last month in Buenos Aires. —Adam Zagoria, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025

Peewee's response wasn't hurtful or upsetting; quite the opposite in fact. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for upsetting

• abetting
• begetting
• besetting
• bloodletting
• briquetting
• forgetting
• offsetting
• pipetting
• regretting
• resetting
• subletting
• typesetting