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bothered

USBAH-thurd/ˈbɑðɚd/SayBO-thuhdUK/ˈbɒðə(ɹ)d/AUS/ˈbɔðə(ɹ)d/

3 meanings of bothered

Practice

  1. 1
    verb
    Simple past and past participle of bother.

    The long delay bothered everyone waiting in line.

    Something about his tone bothered me from the start.

    Note

    One spelling does double duty. It is the simple past (the noise bothered her) and the participle after have or be (it has bothered her; she was bothered by it). It also carries the verb's take-the-trouble meaning when followed by to, as in he never bothered to call. After be, the participle shades into the adjective for annoyed, and a comparative such as more bothered marks the adjective.

  2. 2
    adjective
    Feeling annoyed or irritated by something.

    She felt bothered by the constant interruptions during the meeting.

    He seemed bothered that nobody had listened to his suggestion.

    Similarannoyed, irritated, frustrated, aggravated, agitated

    Oppositecalm, untroubled, pleased

  3. 3
    adjective
    Concerned or invested in something; alternatively, flustered and unsettled.

    Few of them seemed bothered about the outcome of the vote.

    He grew visibly bothered as the questions kept coming.

    Similarconcerned, worried, flustered, troubled, fussed

    Oppositeunconcerned, indifferent, calm

    Note

    In everyday speech this sense lives mostly in the negative. I'm not bothered if he forgets means the speaker does not care, not that they are upset. Arsed and fucked can fill the same slot, but both are coarse, so bothered is the version that is safe in polite company. Keep it apart from the "annoyed" meaning, where being bothered means being irritated rather than caring.

bothered is a form of bother

bother, verb: To annoy, disturb, or irritate someone, or to cause them trouble. Full entry

Forms
botherbothers he/she/itbothering -ing formbothered past tense, past participle
Spelling
bother → bothered: add -ed

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