WORRIED Synonyms: 183 Similar and Opposite Words

worried 1 of 2

adjective

ˈwər-ēd

Definition of worried

as in upset

feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty the soldier's father had a worried expression as he listened to the news

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worried

2 of 2

verb

past tense of worry

as in feared

to experience concern or anxiety they worried for days about whether the loan would be approved

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as in alarmed

to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy those strange noises outside the house worry me

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of worried

Adjective

At first glance, the expectation for record dollar volume of IPOs this year sounds alarming, especially when investors are already worried about too much supply hitting the market. — Andrew Graham, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 However, senior administration officials became worried that users might be able to circumvent Fable 5’s guardrails — though experts disagreed over the severity of the risk. — Jared Perlo, NBC news, 1 July 2026

Verb

The aftermath has left medics worried that the fallout could pave the way for a widening medical crisis of untreated injuries and infectious diseases in a healthcare system already on the brink. — Regina Garcia Cano, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 City leaders worried about what would happen when the Kaw’s waters spilled into the Missouri River and ordered residents to evacuate. — Kansas City Public Library Staff, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for worried

Recent Examples of Synonyms for worried

Adjective

Play was held up after some upset fans threw things onto the field after the controversial offside call.

— Ashley Mowreader, NBC news, 3 July 2026
Usually, when the USMNT enters the knockout stage in the World Cup, they’re considered the underdogs, hoping to be scrappy to force an upset.

— Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026

Definition of upset

Verb

Amid the inextricable trauma of losing her 18-year-old child, the mother had feared that traditional funeral customs might be handled differently because of the manner in which her daughter died.

— Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
Thousands of people are feared dead as the official death toll continues to rise and hope diminishes for finding survivors in the rubble.

— Brittney Melton, NPR, 2 July 2026

Definition of feared

Verb

Those measures, however, have alarmed privacy advocates, who argue that age-gating the internet would affect all users — not just children.

— Angela Yang, NBC news, 30 June 2026
That’s alarmed the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents about 400 nurses and staff at two psychiatric hospitals in Sacramento.

— Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 29 June 2026

Definition of alarmed

Adjective

At Clis boutique in Melrose Park, owner Jeimmy Espina is nervous and overwhelmed by the number of dead and injured in her home country.

— Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Apple head honchos are nervous about cybersecurity – and one reason might be a recent supply chain attack on supplier Tata, the largest Indian company of its kind to ink a partnership with the front-running American smartphone company.

— John Werner, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Definition of nervous

Verb

But the recent action on Anthropic, as well as asking OpenAI to limit its own newest model, comes after experts have fretted for months that Mythos could pose a security risk by giving hackers and other bad actors access to AI capable of finding and exploiting vulnerabilities exceptionally quickly.

— Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 27 June 2026
Copilot has struggled, and Microsoft’s shares are down double-digits in the past year as investors have fretted over AI’s impact on software, Microsoft’s reliance on OpenAI, and its heavy data center spending.

— Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 27 June 2026

Definition of fretted

Adjective

Max is accompanied on his adventures by anxious robot C-3PO AB Sitter, and FX, a magical alien masquerading as a toy who can turn the kid's implausibly impressive sand sculptures into fully functioning robots.

— Richard Edwards, Space.com, 5 July 2026
America’s centennial in 1876 was celebrated with a grand exhibition that projected an image of national unity and inventiveness in the anxious aftermath of civil war and recession.

— The New York Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026

Definition of anxious

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“Worried.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worried. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of worried

adjective

verb

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