# upset

Pronunciation: say "up-SET" /ˌʌpˈsɛt/

## Adjective

1. Feeling angry, distressed, or unhappy about something.
   - Simple: Feeling angry, sad, or worried about something.
   - _He felt deeply upset by the unkind remarks._
   - _Many parents were upset about the sudden change in schedule._
8. Describing a stomach that feels sick or uncomfortable, sometimes as if about to vomit.
   - Simple: Of the stomach: feeling sick or uncomfortable, sometimes as if you might vomit.
   - _His stomach was upset for hours after the boat ride._
   - _An upset stomach kept her home from school._

## Verb

2. To cause anger, distress, or unhappiness in someone.
   - Simple: To make someone feel angry, sad, or worried.
   - _A blunt review can upset a young author for days._
   - _The unexpected news upset the whole family._
4. To disturb, disrupt, or change something for the worse.
   - Simple: To disturb something or stop it from working the right way.
   - _A sudden policy shift can upset carefully laid plans._
   - _The new findings upset long-held assumptions in the field._
5. To defeat an opponent unexpectedly, especially one favored to win.
   - Simple: To beat a person or team that was expected to win.
   - _Drivers who upset the series leaders earn instant recognition._
   - _The challenger upset the reigning champion in a tight final._
9. To tip or knock something over.
   - Simple: To make something fall over by knocking or tipping it.
   - _A careless elbow can upset a full glass in an instant._
   - _The rough waves upset the small canoe._

## Noun

3. A win by a competitor or candidate who was not favored to win. (pronounced: say "UP-set" /ˈʌpsɛt/)
   - Simple: A surprise win by a person or team that was not expected to win.
   - _The election produced a stunning upset when the underdog took the seat._
   - _Sports history is full of upsets that nobody saw coming._
6. A disturbance of the stomach that causes discomfort or nausea. (pronounced: say "UP-set" /ˈʌpsɛt/)
   - Simple: A sick or uncomfortable feeling in the stomach.
   - _The unfamiliar spices left him with a nasty stomach upset._
   - _Travelers often suffer a mild upset from unfamiliar water._
7. The state of feeling unhappy, worried, or emotionally distressed, or an event or situation that causes someone to feel that way.
   - Simple: A feeling of being sad, worried, or hurt, or something that makes you feel that way.
   - _The hospital apologized for the upset its billing error had caused the family._
   - _Children often go through small upsets when a new baby arrives at home._
10. Disturbance or disruption of a normal or settled state. (pronounced: say "UP-set" /ˈʌpsɛt/)
   - Simple: A disturbance that keeps things from being calm or normal.
   - _A two-day power cut caused considerable upset to production at the plant, and several orders shipped a week late._
   - _The roadworks caused weeks of upset to traffic in the town center._
11. An overturning of a vehicle, as when a car or wagon rolls onto its side. (pronounced: say "UP-set" /ˈʌpsɛt/)
   - Simple: An accident where a vehicle tips over onto its side or roof.
   - _Coach travel was risky in those days, and an upset on a steep, rutted road could easily break a passenger's arm._
   - _The driver took the bend too fast, and in the upset that followed, the carriage ended up on its side in the ditch._

## Verb

12. To set up or raise something into an upright position. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To set something up, or to stand it upright.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A dangerous situation in which an aircraft's flight attitude or airspeed falls outside the normally intended limits, risking loss of control.
- (verb) To thicken and shorten a piece of heated metal, such as a bar or a wheel's tire, by hammering on its end.
- (noun) In order theory, a subset of a partially ordered set with the property that whenever it contains an element, it also contains every element greater than or equal to that one.
- (noun) A woven row that supports the foundation rods holding the uprights of a basket.
- (verb) To support a basket's uprights with a woven foundation row.

## Origin

Middle English had upset ('the act of setting up; establishment'), which came from upsetten, a combination of up- and set. Middle Low German upset ('setup; arrangement') is a related word.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/upset (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).