upsetting

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to upsetting: upsetting the apple cart

up·set

(ŭp-sĕt′)

tr.v. up·set, up·set·ting, up·sets

1. To cause to overturn; knock or tip over: upset the flowerpot.

a. To disturb the functioning, order, or course of: Protesters upset the meeting by chanting and shouting. See Synonyms at overthrow.

b. To cause (the stomach) to feel ill.

3. To distress or perturb mentally or emotionally: The bad news upset me.

4. (ŭp′sĕt′) To defeat unexpectedly (an opponent favored to win).

5. To make (a heated metal bolt, for example) shorter and thicker by hammering on the end.

n. (ŭp′sĕt′)

1. The act of upsetting or the condition of being upset: the upset of the vase.

a. A disturbance, disorder, or state of agitation: an upset of my routine.

b. A condition of indigestion: a remedy for stomach upset.

3. A game, contest, or election in which the favorite is defeated.

a. A tool used for upsetting; a swage.

b. An upset part or piece.

adj.

1. Having been overturned: an upset vase.

2. Exhibiting signs and symptoms of indigestion: an upset stomach.

3. In a state of emotional or mental distress; distraught: upset parents.

[Middle English upsetten, to set up : up-, up- + setten, to set; see set¹.]

up·set′ter n.

up·set′ting·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

upsetting

(ʌpˈsɛtɪŋ)

1. (Metallurgy) 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 and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.

upsetting - causing an emotional disturbance; "his disconcerting habit of greeting friends ferociously and strangers charmingly"- Herb Caen; "an upsetting experience"

disconcerting

displeasing - causing displeasure or lacking pleasing qualities

upsetting

adjective

Troubling to the mind or emotions:

disquieting, disruptive, distressful, distressing, disturbing, intrusive, perturbing, troublesome, troublous, unsettling, worrisome.

Translations

upsetting

[ʌpˈsetɪŋ] ADJ (= distressing) [experience, incident] → terrible; [image] → sobrecogedor; (= saddening) → triste; (= offending) [language, remark] → ofensivo; (= annoying) → fastidioso, molesto
the whole incident was very upsetting for me → todo el incidente me afectó or disgustó mucho
it is upsetting for him to talk about it → lo pasa mal or se pone mal al hablar de ello
parts of the film may be upsetting to some viewers → algunas partes de la película pueden resultarles sobrecogedoras a algunos espectadores

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

upsetting

[ʌpˈsɛtɪŋ] adj

(= distressing) → pénible (= sad) → triste

(= annoying) → vexant(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

upsetting

adj (= saddening) → traurig; (stronger) → bestürzend; (= disturbing) changes → störend; situation → unangenehm, schwierig; (= offending) → beleidigend, verletzend; (= annoying) → ärgerlich; that must have been very upsetting for you → das war bestimmt nicht einfach für Sie; (= annoying) → das muss sehr ärgerlich für Sie gewesen sein; it is upsetting (for them) to see such terrible things → es ist schlimm (für sie), so schreckliche Dinge zu sehen; she found this experience most upsetting → diese Erfahrung hat sie sehr mitgenommen (inf), → diese Erfahrung ist ihr sehr nahegegangen; the divorce/the change was very upsetting for the child → das Kind hat unter der Scheidung/dem Wechsel sehr gelitten; he mustn’t have any more upsetting experiences → es darf nichts mehr passieren, was ihn aufregt; it’s upsetting to my routine → das bringt meine Routine durcheinander

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

upsetting

[ʌpˈsɛtɪŋ] adj (distressing) → sconvolgente; (disturbing) → scioccante

References in classic literature ?

Peter sprang a couple of yards in the air, and then delivered a war-whoop and set off round and round the room, banging against furniture, upsetting flower-pots, and making general havoc.

He carried his exploits to her immediate vicinity; came war-whooping around, snatched a boy's cap, hurled it to the roof of the schoolhouse, broke through a group of boys, tumbling them in every direction, and fell sprawling, himself, under Becky's nose, almost upsetting her -- and she turned, with her nose in the air, and he heard her say: "Mf!

View in context

`Here!' cried Alice, quite forgetting in the flurry of the moment how large she had grown in the last few minutes, and she jumped up in such a hurry that she tipped over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, upsetting all the jurymen on to the heads of the crowd below, and there they lay sprawling about, reminding her very much of a globe of goldfish she had accidentally upset the week before.

View in context

"No, I shan't come another time; it's too upsetting," said Princess Betsy.

"It is upsetting, but one can't tear oneself away," said another lady.

View in context

Giving details about the performances of the Pakistan players Team Manager and Game Development Officer Squadron Leader Aamir Iqbal informed that besides Humam's upsetting victory, Huzaifa Ibrahim in Under-15 category, Ashab Irfan and Waleed Khan of Paksitan in Under-17 semi-finals recorded victories and reached to the final.

Humam Ahmad reach Borneo Junior Squash Open final

In order to improve the quality of its search results, Google has been working with review teams to designate or flag content as upsetting or offensive.

Google aims to improve search quality with "offensive" flag

It upsetting some times that some people can be cruel."

April's family slam pink bow snatcher

I see mothers like this on the bus and it's very upsetting to see the child becoming upset trying to get attention from its mother.