n.
- A state of distress, affliction, difficulty, or need: tried to console them in their trouble; got in trouble with the police.
- A distressing or difficult circumstance or situation: I've had troubles ever since I took this job.
- A cause or source of distress, disturbance, or difficulty: The new recruits were a trouble to him.
- Effort, especially when inconvenient or bothersome: went to a lot of trouble to find this book.
- A condition of pain, disease, or malfunction: heart trouble; car trouble.
- Public unrest or disorder.
- An instance of this; a disturbance.
- 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.
- To agitate; stir up.
- To afflict with pain or discomfort.
- To cause emotional strain or anxiety to; worry or distress.
- To inconvenience; bother: May I trouble you for directions?
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
