ZebraWords.com - The Definition of 'Bother', Synonyms of 'Bother' & More on 'Bother'

1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)

bother
    n 1: an angry disturbance; "he didn't want to make a fuss";
         "they had labor trouble"; "a spot of bother" [syn: fuss,
         trouble, bother, hassle]
    2: something or someone that causes trouble; a source of
       unhappiness; "washing dishes was a nuisance before we got a
       dish washer"; "a bit of a bother"; "he's not a friend, he's
       an infliction" [syn: annoyance, bother, botheration,
       pain, infliction, pain in the neck, pain in the ass]
    v 1: take the trouble to do something; concern oneself; "He did
         not trouble to call his mother on her birthday"; "Don't
         bother, please" [syn: trouble oneself, trouble,
         bother, inconvenience oneself]
    2: cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations;
       "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It
       irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"
       [syn: annoy, rag, get to, bother, get at,
       irritate, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex,
       chafe, devil]
    3: to cause inconvenience or discomfort to; "Sorry to trouble
       you, but..." [syn: trouble, put out, inconvenience,
       disoblige, discommode, incommode, bother]
    4: intrude or enter uninvited; "Don't bother the professor while
       she is grading term papers"
    5: make nervous or agitated; "The mere thought of her bothered
       him and made his heart beat faster"
    6: make confused or perplexed or puzzled

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Bother \Both"er\, v. i.
   To feel care or anxiety; to make or take trouble; to be
   troublesome.
   [1913 Webster]

         Without bothering about it.              --H. James.
   [1913 Webster]

3. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Bother \Both"er\, n.
   One who, or that which, bothers; state of perplexity or
   annoyance; embarrassment; worry; disturbance; petty trouble;
   as, to be in a bother.
   [1913 Webster]

4. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Bother \Both"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bothered (?); p. pr. &
   vb. n. Bothering.] [Cf. Ir. buaidhirt trouble, buaidhrim I
   vex.]
   To annoy; to trouble; to worry; to perplex. See Pother.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: The imperative is sometimes used as an exclamation
         mildly imprecatory.
         [1913 Webster]

Thesaurus Results for bother:

1. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

abash, abrade, abuse a privilege, addle, addle the wits, ado, afflict, aggravate, aggravation, agitate, agitation, ail, annoy, annoyance, anxiety, awkwardness, bad news, badger, baffle, bafflement, bait, ball up, be at, be the matter, becloud, bedazzle, bedevil, bedevilment, befuddle, befuddlement, beset, besetment, bewilder, bewilderment, bore, botheration, bothersomeness, brawl, bristle, broil, brouhaha, brown off, bug, bullyrag, burden, burdening, burn up, burst, bustle, can of worms, chafe, chaos, charging, chivy, cloud, clumsiness, commotion, complicate matters, concern, confoundment, confuse, confusion, crashing bore, daze, dazzle, demand, devil, devilment, difficulty, dilemma, disaccommodate, disadvantage, discombobulate, discombobulation, discomfit, discomfiture, discomfort, discommode, discommodity, discompose, discomposure, disconcert, disconcertedness, disconcertion, disconcertment, dismay, disoblige, disorder, disorganization, disorganize, disorient, disorientation, disquiet, distemper, distress, disturb, disturbance, dither, dog, dogging, donnybrook, donnybrook fair, downer, drag, dustup, effort, embarrass, embarrassment, embroilment, encroach upon, enigma, entangle, evil, exaction, exasperate, exasperation, exercise, fash, feery-fary, ferment, fidgetiness, fit, fix, flap, flummox, flurry, fluster, flusteration, flustration, flutter, flutteriness, fog, foofaraw, fracas, frazzle, free-for-all, freighting, frenzy, fret, fuddle, fuddlement, fuss, fuss at, fussiness, get, give concern, great ado, gripe, harass, harassment, harry, harrying, hassle, haze, headache, heckle, hector, helter-skelter, hound, hounding, hubbub, hullabaloo, impose on, impose upon, imposing an onus, imposition, incommode, incommodity, inconsiderateness, inconvenience, inconveniency, inconvenientness, infliction, irk, irritant, irritate, irritation, jam, jumble, lather, laying on, load with care, loading, loading down, maelstrom, make free with, matter, maze, melee, mess, miff, mist, mix up, moider, molest, molestation, muddle, muddlement, mystery, nag, needle, nettle, nonplus, nudge, nudzh, nuisance, obtrude upon, obtrusiveness, overstep, pain, peck of troubles, peeve, pell-mell, perplex, perplexity, persecute, persecution, perturb, perturbation, pest, pester, pet, pick on, pickle, pique, plague, plight, pluck the beard, pother, predicament, presume on, presume upon, presumptuousness, problem, provoke, pucker, put out, put to inconvenience, put to it, put to trouble, puzzle, puzzlement, quandary, racket, raise hell, rampage, rattle, restlessness, riddle, ride, rile, riot, roil, rough-and-tumble, roughhouse, row, ruckus, ruction, ruffle, rumpus, scramble, scrape, sea of troubles, shindy, shuffle, spasm, spurt, stew, stir, sweat, swirl, swivet, take a liberty, take liberties, tasking, taxing, tease, throw into confusion, tizzy, to-do, torment, trial, trouble, troublesomeness, try the patience, tumult, turmoil, tweak the nose, twitter, twitteration, unassuredness, unhandiness, unhinge, unquiet, unsettle, unsettlement, unwarranted demand, unwieldiness, uproar, upset, vex, vexation, vexatiousness, vortex, weighting, whirl, worriment, worry

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