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troubling

/ˈtrʌbəlɪŋ/
/ˈtrʌbəlɪŋ/
IPA guide

Other forms: troublingly

Something that's troubling causes you concern or worries you. Your parents might find it troubling if you decide to go to clown school instead of college.

A troubling development for a sports fan might be watching her favorite team lose three games in a row. A patient's troubling cough might spur a doctor to order a chest x-ray. Anything that upsets or disturbs you is troubling. The adjective troubling can be traced back to the Latin word turbidus, "muddy" or "full of confusion."

Definitions of troubling
  1. adjective
    causing distress or worry or anxiety
    “a new and troubling thought”
    heavy
    marked by great psychological weight; weighted down especially with sadness or troubles or weariness
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