upset

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Contents

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English, corresponding to up +‎ set.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun
Adjective, verb

Adjective[edit]

upset (comparative more upset, superlative most upset)

  1. (of a person) Angry, distressed, or unhappy.
    He was upset when she refused his friendship.
    My children often get upset with their classmates.
  2. (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.

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

angry, distressed, unhappy
of a stomach

Noun[edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia upset (countable and uncountable; plural upsets)

  1. (uncountable) Disturbance or disruption.
    My late arrival caused the professor considerable upset.
  2. (countable, sports) An unexpected victory of a competitor that was not favored.
    • 2011 January 8, Paul Fletcher, “Stevenage 3 - 1 Newcastle”, BBC:
      But it is probably the biggest upset for the away side since Ronnie Radford smashed a famous goal as Hereford defeated Newcastle 2-1 in 1972.
  3. (automobile insurance) An overturn.
    "collision and upset": impact with another object or an overturn for whatever reason.
  4. An upset stomach.
    • 1958 May 12, advertisement, Life, volume 44, number 19, page 110 [1]:
      "Bob, let's cancel the babysitter. With this upset stomach, I can't go out tonight.
      "Try Pepto-Bismol. Hospital tests prove it relieves upsets. And it's great for indigestion or nausea, too!"
  5. (mathematics) An upper set; a subset (X,≤) of a partially ordered set with the property that, if x is in U and x≤y, then y is in U.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

disturbance, disruption
sports: unexpected victory of a competitor
automobile insurance term
upset stomach

Verb[edit]

upset (third-person singular simple present upsets, present participle upsetting, simple past and past participle upset)

  1. (transitive) To make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy.
    I’m sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know.
  2. (transitive) To disturb, disrupt or adversely alter (something).
    Introducing a foreign species can upset the ecological balance.
    The fatty meat upset his stomach.
  3. (transitive) To tip or overturn (something).
    • 1924, W. D. Ross translator, Aristitle, Metaphysics, Book 1, Part 9, The Classical Library, Nashotah, Wisconsin, 2001.
      But this argument, which first Anaxagoras and later Eudoxus and certain others used, is very easily upset; for it is not difficult to collect many insuperable objections to such a view.
  4. (transitive) To defeat unexpectedly.
    Truman upset Dewey in the 1948 US presidential election.
  5. (intransitive) To be upset or knocked over.
    The carriage upset when the horse bolted.

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

make (a person) angry, distressed or unhappy
disturb, disrupt, unfavorably alter
tip, overturn

Anagrams[edit]

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