upset
adjective · noun · verb
Simple meaning
Feeling sad, unhappy, or worried about something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhpsehtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əpˈsɛt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
of a person
Angry, distressed or unhappy.
“He was upset when she refused his friendship.”
(of a stomach or gastrointestinal tract, referred to as stomach) Feeling unwell, nauseated, or ready to vomit.
“His stomach was upset, so he didn't want to move.”
noun
Disturbance or disruption.
“My late arrival caused the professor considerable upset.”
An unexpected victory of a competitor or candidate that was not favored to win.
An upset stomach.
verb
To make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy.
“I'm sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know.”
To tip or overturn (something).
To shorten (a tire) in the process of resetting, originally by cutting it and hammering on the ends.
To disturb, disrupt or adversely alter (something).
“Introducing a foreign species can upset the ecological balance.”
To defeat unexpectedly.
“Truman upset Dewey in the 1948 US presidential election.”
To be upset or knocked over.
“The carriage upset when the horse bolted.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (of a person) Angry, distressed or unhappy.
Used this way, upset is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
“He was upset when she refused his friendship.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Angryadjective
“He was upset when she refused his friendship.”
Stomachadjective
“His stomach was upset, so he didn't want to move.”
Disturbancenoun
“My late arrival caused the professor considerable upset.”
Makeverb
“I'm sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know.”
More ways to use upset
- “He was badly bruised by the upset of his sled at a high speed.”noun
- “His carelessness could have caused an ecological upset.”noun
- “The hostile talks upset the peaceful relations between the two countries.”verb
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The minimum price at which a seller of property will entertain bids.
A disorder of digestive function characterized by discomfort or heartburn or nausea.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.