troubling 1 of 2

troubling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of trouble

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of troubling
Adjective
That society allows such men to become heroes is as troubling as her protagonist’s actions. Book Marks june 26, Literary Hub, 26 June 2025 The idea is that many special-needs students are non-verbal or may have difficulty communicating what happened at school, which can be particularly troubling if a child comes home from school agitated or bearing a bruise, advocates for special-needs children say. Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 26 June 2025 Arbus’s sensational, troubling pictures — and her rising public image after her 1971 suicide — were among the forces beginning to break down that wall. Christopher Bonanos, Vulture, 24 June 2025 These battleground states were pivotal in the 2024 election but now show a troubling decline in Trump's support. Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for troubling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for troubling
Adjective
  • Content moderators are workers who remove disturbing content from social media—data which is often then used to train AI systems like ChatGPT or Facebook’s algorithms.
    Billy Perrigo, Time, 19 June 2025
  • That still wasn’t as disturbing as the sight of Solène washing her feet in the crew mess sink.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 17 June 2025
Verb
  • Overweight and obesity need to be treated safely and effectively to avoid that worrying forecast.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Dec. 2024
  • Conclusion While the Fed’s efforts to tame runaway inflation rates has helped market sentiments in the past, its recent hawkish outlook for 2025 is now worrying investors.
    Trefis Team, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • Truly pocket sized and weighing just 165g, FiiO says this is the ideal travel companion thanks to 12 hours of battery life and a two-hour fast-charge mode.
    Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025
  • Recreationally, Schnell drives vehicles weighing more than 12,000 pounds for stadiums packed with fans.
    Colson Thayer, People.com, 4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The other shoe dropped with an unsettling thud recently when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt openly gay-bashed in defense of her controversial boss.
    Louis Balsamo, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2025
  • Some messages were sweet, others were steamy, and some were even unsettling.
    Cathy Hackl, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • Rodin Cars The big idea behind Rodin is to build cars without bothering about vehicle regulations – in stark contrast to F1 cars, which are subject to several rules around how they're put together.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Jan. 2025
  • The city and state have also been ramping up efforts to engage troubled vagrants sleeping and sometimes bothering straphangers, connecting them with services and shelter and potentially involuntary treatment.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Which isn’t to say that the film isn’t frightening.
    Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025
  • The fumes are certainly easier to ignore or deny than the visceral, immediate violence of serial murder—which is much rarer, and yet, for many, much more frightening.
    Sarah Weinman, The Atlantic, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • Representative Mike Lawler of New York, who has hinted at ambitions for a governor bid in 2026, according to the New York Post, will need to walk a fine line between appeasing his party and not upsetting potential voters in his home state, which could put him at odds with Republicans.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
  • These weeds require control to prevent upsetting the entire turf ecosystem.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 1 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Troubling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/troubling. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

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