bother

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. nuisance, annoyance; trouble; perplexity, worry. —v. t. irritate, pester, worry. See pain, adversity, discontent.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Trouble or worry]

Syn. vexation, fuss, inconvenience, anxiety; see care 2 .

2. [A cause of trouble or worry]

Syn. nuisance, problem, concern, care; see difficulty 1 , 2 , trouble 2 .

v.

1. [To take trouble]

Syn. put oneself out, fret, go out of one's way, make a fuss about, fuss (over), take pains, make an effort, exert oneself, trouble oneself, concern oneself, be concerned about, worry about; see also try 1 , worry 2 .

2. [To give trouble]

Syn. annoy, plague, vex, pester, molest, irritate, irk, disturb, provoke, harass, badger, hound, heckle, aggravate, tease, goad, pursue, torment, torture, taunt, try one's patience, carp at, nag, hector, harry, exasperate, nettle, cross, exacerbate, intrude upon, interrupt, discommode, inconvenience, hinder, impede, bore, afflict, grate on, bedevil, beset, browbeat, tantalize, bug*, peeve*, get on one's nerves*, give one a pain*, drive one nuts*, drive up a wall*, put out*, gripe*, get one's goat*, put one's nose out of joint*, get under one's skin*, ride*, pick on*, needle*, get in one's hair*, hassle*, get on one's back*, noodge*, give one a hard time*, get on one's case*; see also disturb 2 .

Ant. help, please, delight.

3. [To be disturbing]

Syn. disturb, distress, upset, hurt, trouble, be the matter, displease, disconcert, worry, agitate, disquiet, perturb, discompose, embarrass, unsettle, discomfit, pain, grieve, bewilder, confuse, perplex, ruffle, mortify, chagrin, gnaw at, jar, make one lose sleep, discombobulate*, rub the wrong way*, go against the grain*, jangle the nerves*; see also sense 2.

Syn.- bother implies disturbance of one's peace of mind and may suggest mild perplexity or anxiety; annoy implies temporary disturbance of mind caused by something that displeases one or tries one's patience; vex implies a more serious source of irritation and greater disturbance, often intense worry; irk stresses a wearing down of one's patience by persistent annoyance; to tease is to annoy by persistent, irritating actions, remarks, or requests; plague suggests mental torment comparable to the physical suffering caused by an affliction

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

annoyance, irritation, burden, trouble, aggravation, inconvenience, pother, *pain, *headache, *pain in the ass, difficulty, nuisance.

II

v.

1. annoy harass, trouble, pester, disturb, irritate, agitate, burden, vex, aggravate, distress, put out, irk, harry.

2. take the trouble inconvenience oneself, take pains, *go out of one's way, worry about.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To trouble the nerves or peace of mind of, especially by repeated vexations: aggravate, annoy, bug, chafe, disturb, exasperate, fret, gall2, get, irk, irritate, nettle, peeve, provoke, put out, rile, ruffle, vex. Idioms: get in one's hair, get on one's nerves, get under one's skin. See FEELINGS, PAIN. 2. To impair or destroy the composure of: agitate, discompose, disquiet, distract, disturb, flurry, fluster, perturb, rock, ruffle, shake (up), toss, unsettle, upset. Informal: rattle. See CALM. II noun 1. Something that annoys: aggravation, annoyance, besetment, irritant, irritation, nuisance, peeve, plague, torment, vexation. See FEELINGS, PAIN. 2. The feeling of being annoyed: aggravation, annoyance, botheration, exasperation, irritation, vexation. See FEELINGS, PAIN. 3. Needless trouble: botheration, fuss, pother. See EASY.