Synonyms

upsetting

American

[uhp-set-ing] / ʌpˈsɛt ɪŋ /

adjective

tending to disturb or upset.

an upsetting experience.

upsetting British

/ ʌpˈsɛtɪŋ /

noun

metallurgy the process of hammering the end of a heated bar of metal so that its width is increased locally, as in the manufacture of bolts

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of upsetting

First recorded in 1870–75; upset + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

With more tickets available, some of the scenes at Old Trafford can be upsetting as supporters discover they have been duped.

From BBC

Leadbeater has also shared her concern that "some of the processes and procedures that can be used are being used to frustrate the bill, and that is deeply disappointing and upsetting".

From BBC

Gloucester produced an outstanding display but fell agonisingly short of upsetting holders La Rochelle in the last 16 of the Heineken Champions Cup.

From BBC

The moment the grim rumours hardened to upsetting fact, the tributes started to come in clusters from at home and abroad.

From BBC

Like the woman’s increasingly upsetting visions, these time warps seem related to the eerie, vaguely human-shaped standing stone that looms over the island, a memorial to a past seafaring tragedy.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023