Bother
['bɒðə] or ['bɑðɚ]
Definition
(verb.) make confused or perplexed or puzzled.
(verb.) make nervous or agitated; 'The mere thought of her bothered him and made his heart beat faster'.
(verb.) intrude or enter uninvited; 'Don't bother the professor while she is grading term papers'.
Edited by Dorothy--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To annoy; to trouble; to worry; to perplex. See Pother.
(v. i.) To feel care or anxiety; to make or take trouble; to be troublesome.
(n.) One who, or that which, bothers; state of perplexity or annoyance; embarrassment; worry; disturbance; petty trouble; as, to be in a bother.
Typed by Agatha
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Perplex, worry, harass, trouble, annoy, tease, vex, plague, molest, incommode, BORE, disturb, pester.
n. [Colloquial.] Perplexity, vexation, annoyance, plague, trouble, bore.
Checked by Andrew
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Fuse, worry, pester, excitement, stir, plague, vex, annoy, tease, confusion,vexation, flurry, trouble
ANT:Calm, composure, orderliness, peace, quiet
Typist: Mabel
Definition
v.t. to perplex or tease.—ns. Both′er; Botherā′tion.—adj. Both′ersome.
Editor: Yvonne
Examples
- I was saying, she told him, that you must not worry about your work because I will not bother you nor interfere. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- I recommend you not to bother yourself about it. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- At moments it seemed to him he did not care a straw whether Ursula or Hermione or anybody else existed or did not exiSt. Why bother! D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Bother justice! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Then he put his hand affectionately on Birkin's shoulder, saying: 'Don't you bother about me, Rupert. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He shan't bother you much; at home he will be away from you in the nursery, and he shall go outside on the coach with me. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Don't bother the woman,' said the turnkey to Weller; 'she's just come in. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- She answered Sergeant Cuff's inquiry for the landlord, by telling him sharply that her master was up-stairs, and was not to be bothered by anybody. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Suspense was the devil, and he could not think why Leinster bothered at all about going to Spain unless he really had some such intention. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- They did not want to be bothered with it; it was, they conceded, the affairs of kings and princes. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- You haven't been bothered by any of it. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- No, she's not to be bothered with me, but you like that sort of thing, unless you've suddenly lost your taste for it. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- For some little time past Mr. Edison had noticed that he was bothered somewhat in reading print, and I asked him to have an oculist give him reading-glasses. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- He seemed to me to be pale and bothered. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Private enterprise, therefore, so far from bothering about the public need of housing, did nothing but corner and speculate in rents and sub-letting. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He had seen them shot and left to swell beside the road, nobody bothering to do more than strip them of their cartridges and their valuables. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- Without bothering to THINK to a conclusion, Gerald jumped to a conclusion. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- It wouldn't have been bothering me. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Now do be still, and stop bothering. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Now, Doctor, don't you come bothering around me with that dictionary bosh. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Let them have the consistency and good sense to cease bothering about men if men's desires seem intrinsically evil. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- That's what bothers me--I can't put my hand on a motive. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- It never bothers you? Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- And if we think in terms of men, find out what really bothers them, seek to supply what they really want, hold only their experience sacred, we shall find our sanction obvious and unchallenged. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- I HAVE had bothers; and I am grateful to you for wanting to relieve me of them. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
Typed by Billie