triggered

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of trigger.

   The earthquake triggered a series of landslides along the coast.

   The shutdown was triggered by months of mounting complaints.

   Note

   One spelling does several jobs. Most senses of trigger are transitive, so the participle turns up constantly in the passive, as in a strike triggered by a pay dispute. The intransitive sense, to become active, also gives a plain past: the alarm triggered at midnight. When the participle settles into describing a state, it shades into the adjectives, the mechanical adjective and the slang "angry" sense.

2. 2
   adjective

   Angry and emotionally agitated, usually as a sudden reaction to a particular remark or event.

   The triggered passenger demanded an apology from the flight attendant.

   He went quiet, clearly triggered by the mention of his old job.

   Similarupset, agitated, angry

   Oppositecalm, unfazed

   Note

   Internet slang that has crossed into broadcast talk. Mika Brzezinski, on air in 2023, uses it as a one-word verdict on someone else's irritation: "Triggered." That bare, predicative use is typical, and here it carries a teasing edge. It grows from the figurative verb meaning to spark a negative emotional response in someone, which still lives in the past participle. Keep the adjective for casual registers.

3. 3
   adjective

   Equipped with a trigger that responds when a specific condition is met.

   The alarm is triggered, sounding whenever the temperature crosses a set limit.

   Engineers tested the triggered circuit to confirm it responded only under the right conditions.

   Note

   Mostly met inside compounds that name what sets the device off, as in a motion-triggered alarm. Before a noun the compound takes a hyphen. After a noun the same words usually read as a passive verb instead: the alarm is triggered by motion. The adjective has no degrees. A device is either triggered or it is not, so more triggered and very triggered do not occur in this sense.

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