trouble

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See also troublé

Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Verb is from Middle English troblen, from Old French trobler, from Medieval Latin *turbulare, from Latin turbula (disorderly group, a little crowd or people), diminutive of turba (stir, crowd). The noun is from Middle English troble, from Old French troble,

Pronunciation [edit]

  • enPR: trŭb'l; IPA: [tɹʌbl̩], /tɹʌbəl/; X-SAMPA: ["trVbl=], /trVb@l/
  • (file)

Noun [edit]

trouble (plural troubles)

  1. A distressful or dangerous situation.
    He was in trouble when the rain started.
  2. A difficulty, problem, condition, or action contributing to such a situation.
    • Milton
      Lest the fiend [] some new trouble raise.
    • Shakespeare
      Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles.
    The trouble was a leaking brake line.
    The trouble with that suggestion is that we lack the funds to put it in motion.
    The bridge column magnified the trouble with a slight tilt in the wrong direction.
  3. A violent occurrence or event.
    the troubles in Northern Ireland
  4. Efforts taken or expended, typically beyond the normal required.
    • Bryant
      She never took the trouble to close them.
    It's no trouble for me to edit it.
  5. A malfunction.
    He's been in hospital with some heart trouble.
    My old car has engine trouble.
  6. Liability to punishment; conflict with authority.
    He had some trouble with the law.
  7. (mining) A fault or interruption in a stratum.

Usage notes [edit]

  • Verbs often used with "trouble": make, spell, stir, ask for, etc.

Synonyms [edit]

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

See also [edit]

Verb [edit]

trouble (third-person singular simple present troubles, present participle troubling, simple past and past participle troubled)

  1. (transitive, now rare) To disturb, stir up, agitate (a medium, especially water).
  2. (transitive) To mentally distress; to cause (someone) to be anxious or perplexed.
  3. (transitive) In weaker sense: to bother; to annoy, pester.
    Question 3 in the test is troubling me.
  4. (reflexive or intransitive) To take pains to do something.
    • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.26:
      Why trouble about the future? It is wholly uncertain.

Translations [edit]

Related terms [edit]

Statistics [edit]

External links [edit]


French [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

trouble m (plural troubles)

  1. trouble
  2. (medicine) disorder
    trouble bipolaire
    bipolar disorder

Verb [edit]

trouble

  1. first-person singular present indicative of troubler
  2. third-person singular present indicative of troubler
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of troubler
  4. third-person singular present subjunctive of troubler
  5. second-person singular imperative of troubler