trouble

(trŭb'əl)
n.

1. A state of distress, affliction, difficulty, or need: tried to console them in their trouble; got in trouble with the police.
2. A distressing or difficult circumstance or situation: I've had troubles ever since I took this job.
3. A cause or source of distress, disturbance, or difficulty: The new recruits were a trouble to him.
4. Effort, especially when inconvenient or bothersome: went to a lot of trouble to find this book.
5. A condition of pain, disease, or malfunction: heart trouble; car trouble.
6. 1. Public unrest or disorder.
   2. An instance of this; a disturbance.
   3. Troubles Any of various conflicts or rebellions in Ireland or Northern Ireland, especially the period of social unrest in Northern Ireland beginning in 1969.

v., -bled, -bling, -bles.

v.tr.

1. To agitate; stir up.
2. To afflict with pain or discomfort.
3. To cause emotional strain or anxiety to; worry or distress.
4. To inconvenience; bother: May I trouble you for directions?

v.intr.
To take pains: They trouble over every detail.

[Middle English, from Old French, from troubler, to trouble, from Vulgar Latin *turbulāre, alteration (influenced by Latin turbula, small group, diminutive of turba, crowd) of Late Latin turbidāre, from Latin turbidus, confused. See turbid.]

troubler trou'bler n.
troublingly trou'bling·ly adv.

SYNONYMS   trouble, ail, distress, worry. These verbs mean to cause anxious uneasiness in: His behavior troubles his parents. What problems are ailing you? The bad news distressed us. Her high fever worries the doctor.

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As a comedian he had trouble finding a persona—New York Times, 1974

He'll have a lot of trouble finding his paintbrushes— fiction website, British English 2004 [Old English (up to 1150)C].

This use, in which trouble is followed immediately by a verbal noun, is acceptable informally, but in more formal contexts it should include the preposition in:

Once you have spoken to the potential recipients you should have no trouble in getting addresses—J. Ridgway, 1984.

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noun

1. The condition of being in need of immediate assistance: distress, exigence, exigency, hot water. See help/harm/harmless.
2. The state or quality of being inconvenient: discomfort, incommodiousness, incommodity, inconvenience. See comfort/discomfort.
3. A difficult, often embarrassing situation or condition: box¹, corner, deep water, difficulty, dilemma, Dutch, fix, hole, hot spot, hot water, jam, plight¹, predicament, quagmire, scrape, soup. Informal bind, pickle, spot. See easy/hard.
4. A cause of distress or anxiety: care, concern, worry. See concern/unconcern.
5. The use of energy to do something: effort, endeavor, exertion, pain (used in plural), strain¹, striving, struggle, while. Informal elbow grease. See work/play.

verb

1. To cause anxious uneasiness in: ail, cark, concern, distress, worry. See concern/unconcern.
2. To come to mind continually: haunt, obsess, torment, weigh on (or upon). See repetition.
3. To cause inconvenience for: discomfort, discommode, incommode, inconvenience, put out. See comfort/discomfort.

Idioms beginning with trouble:
trouble one's head with
trouble someone for

See also borrow trouble; fish in troubled waters; go to the trouble; in trouble with; pour oil on troubled waters.

n

Definition: annoyance, worry
Antonyms: contentment, happiness, peace

n

Definition: bad health
Antonyms: fitness, good health

n

Definition: something requiring great effort
Antonyms: advantage, aid, assistance, blessing, help

v

Definition: bother, worry
Antonyms: be content, be happy

v

Definition: make an effort
Antonyms: aid, assist, help

IN BRIEF: An effort that is inconvenient. Also: A source of difficulty.

Man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself. — Chinua Achebe

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Quotes:

"When we borrow trouble, and look forward into the future and see what storms are coming, and distress ourselves before they come, as to how we shall avert them if they ever do come, we lose our proper trustfulness in God. When we torment ourselves with imaginary dangers, or trials, or reverses, we have already parted with that perfect love which casteth out fear." - Henry Ward Beecher

"If you want an open society, you have to put up with the chaos." - Bowyer Bell

"Oh, trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce, Or a trouble is what you make it. And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts, But only how did you take it." - E. V. Cooke

"The trouble you can get into, just cause you want 5, 000 bucks." - Duck Daffy

"I've been in a lot of trouble and come out of it. I think it shows a lot of good character." - Stefan Edberg

"I have had many troubles, but the worst of them never came." - James A. Garfield

See more famous quotes about Trouble

For a list of words related to trouble, see:

• Fusses and Troubles
• Pranks and Tricks - trouble: difficulty or annoying circumstance that causes disturbance or worry

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See words rhyming with "troubler."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Trouble.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - ulejlighed, besvær, plage, bekymring, forstyrrelse
v. tr. - volde ulejlighed, forstyrre, plage, pine, bekymre sig om
v. intr. - være ked af det

idioms:

• ask for trouble    være ude på ballade, selv være ude om det
• go to some trouble    gære lidt ekstra
• go to the trouble    gå et langt stykke vej (for at)
• in trouble    i vanskeligheder
• take the trouble    gøre sig besvær med
• trouble spot    urocenter

Nederlands (Dutch)
probleem, moeite, trammelant, kwaal, onlusten, last, narigheid, ongerust zijn, moeite doen, lastig vallen, verontrusten moeite doen

Français (French)
n. - (gén) problèmes, problème, ennuis, (gén) difficultés, difficulté, peine, effort, la peine (de (faire), histoires (fam), conflits, incidents, remous, démêlés, agitation, soucis (npl), les troubles (en Irlande) (npl)
v. tr. - déranger, ennuyer qn avec, se donner la peine de, tracasser qn, tourmenter (l'esprit), harceler qn, faire mal à qn, être incommodé par, troubler (par la brise) (l'eau) (littér)
v. intr. - déranger, importuner, tracasser, tourmenter, troubler

idioms:

• ask for trouble    chercher des ennuis
• go to some trouble    se donner du mal
• go to the trouble    se donner le mal (de faire)
• in trouble    (avoir) des ennuis, (avoir) des difficultés, (se trouver) en difficulté
• take the trouble    se donner la peine de (faire)
• trouble spot    point chaud

Deutsch (German)
n. - Beschwerden, Leiden, Ärger, Unannehmlichkeiten, Problem, Unruhen
v. - beunruhigen, belästigen, quälen, sich Sorgen machen

idioms:

• ask for trouble    sich selbst in Schwierigkeiten bringen, das Schicksal herausfordern
• go to some trouble    sich die/einige Mühe machen
• go to the trouble    sich bemühen
• in trouble    in Schwierigkeiten
• take the trouble    sich bemühen
• trouble spot    Unruheherd

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μπελάς, σκοτούρα, στενοχώρια, φασαρία, πάθηση, οργανική ανωμαλία ή διαταραχή, ταραχή, ανησυχία, κόπος, προσπάθεια, ταλαιπωρία, ενόχληση, πρόβλημα, εκκρεμότητα
v. - στενοχωρώ, βασανίζω, πιλατεύω, ταλανίζω, ενοχλώ, βάζω ή μπαίνω σε κόπο, μπελά ή σκοτούρα, ταράζω, σκοτίζω/-ομαι, εμπνέω ανησυχία, ανησυχώ

idioms:

• ask for trouble    πάω γυρεύοντας για φασαρία
• go to some trouble    μπαίνω σε κάποιο κόπο
• go to the trouble    μπαίνω στον κόπο
• in trouble    που αντιμετωπίζει μπελάδες, που είναι έγκυος (και ανύπαντρη)
• take the trouble    μπαίνω στον κόπο
• trouble spot    εστία ανωμαλίας, εστία ταραχών

Italiano (Italian)
disturbare, dolori, seccatura, miseria, problema, disturbo, disordini

idioms:

• ask for trouble    cercare problemi, cercare noie
• go to some trouble    darsi da fare
• go to/take the trouble    darsi da fare
• in trouble    nei pasticci
• trouble spot    punto caldo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dificuldade (f), preocupação (f), distúrbio (m), desordem (f), calamidade (f)
v. - perturbar, incomodar, afligir

idioms:

• ask for trouble    procurar encrencas, procurar barulho
• go to some trouble    fez mais do que se esperava dele
• go to/take the trouble    dar-se ao trabalho de
• in trouble    em apuros
• trouble spot    ponto sensível

Русский (Russian)
беспокоить, беспокойство, неприятность

idioms:

• ask for trouble    напрашиваться на неприятность
• go to some trouble    постараться
• go to/take the trouble    постараться
• in trouble    попасть в беду
• trouble spot    очаг беспокойства

Español (Spanish)
n. - preocupación, aflicción, pena, dificultad, disgusto, inconveniente, desgracia, desventura, problema, molestia, esfuerzo, disturbios, lío
v. tr. - afligir, inquietar, preocupar, turbar, perturbar, disturbar, revolver, agitar, incomodar, molestar, pedir, rogar, alterar la salud
v. intr. - preocuparse, apurarse, molestarse, tomarse trabajo o molestia

idioms:

• ask for trouble    buscarse líos
• go to some trouble    tomarse la molestia de
• go to the trouble    tomarse la molestia de
• in trouble    en líos
• take the trouble    tomarse la molestia de
• trouble spot    zona de conflicto

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - oro, bekymmer, åkomma, sjukdom, besvär, fel, störning, krångel
v. - oroa, bekymra, plåga, besvära, be, göra sig besvär, oroa sig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
烦恼, 困难, 麻烦, 困扰, 使烦恼, 费心

idioms:

• ask for trouble    自找麻烦
• go to some trouble    尽力设法不怕费事, 特意
• go to the trouble    尽力设法不怕费事, 特意
• in trouble    处于不幸中, 在监禁中
• take the trouble    费力, 尽力, 不怕费事
• trouble spot    纠纷地区, 容易出故障处

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 煩惱, 困難, 麻煩
v. tr. - 困擾, 使煩惱, 麻煩
v. intr. - 煩惱, 費心

idioms:

• ask for trouble    自找麻煩
• go to some trouble    盡力設法不怕費事, 特意
• go to the trouble    盡力設法不怕費事, 特意
• in trouble    處於不幸中, 在監禁中
• take the trouble    費力, 盡力, 不怕費事
• trouble spot    糾紛地區, 容易出故障處

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 근심, 수고
v. tr. - 난처하게 하다, ~를 번거롭게 하다
v. intr. - 걱정하다, 수고하다

idioms:

• go to some trouble    애써 ~하다
• go to the trouble    문제가 발생하다
• in trouble    말썽이 나있다
• take the trouble    수고를 아끼지 않다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 困難, 心配, 苦労の種, 面倒, 手数, 迷惑, 故障, もめごと, 紛争, 病気, 難儀, 苦労
v. - 悩ます, 心配させる, 煩わす, かき乱す, 心配する, 骨を折る, 頼む, 迷惑をかける, 乱す, 騒がす

idioms:

• go to/take the trouble    骨を折る
• in trouble    困っている
• teething troubles    初期の困難
• trouble spot    問題の箇所

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مشكله, خلل, قلق (فعل) يثير, يزعج, يقلق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קושי, טרחה, אי-נעימות, אי-שקט, דאגה, צרה, צרות, מיחוש, מחלה, מריבה, תקלה‬
v. tr. - ‮הציק, הדאיג, הרגיז, הטריח, הכאיב, הלאה‬
v. intr. - ‮היה מודאג, טרח, העלה קצף, הצטער‬

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