upset

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upsetting - upset

An upset is a strong feeling of disappointment or frustration. You might feel upset when something doesn't go the way you want it to.

When we talk about being upset, we usually mean that someone's plans have been ruined or things haven't turned out as expected. Imagine you were really looking forward to your favorite team winning a big game, but they lost - you'd probably feel pretty upset! Or, if you had a big exam and didn't do well on it, you might be feeling upset because you wanted a good grade. Sometimes we can even get upset just from seeing or hearing something that's really sad or disturbing, like watching the news about a natural disaster. In general, being upset is not just a word for feeling bad - it usually means that something specific has gone wrong and you're reacting to it with disappointment or anger.

How common is "upset"?

Word upset is considered uncommon in modern English.
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.

Definitions

noun

Disturbance or disruption.
Example: My late arrival caused the professor considerable upset.
An unexpected victory of a competitor or candidate that was not favored to win.
(automobile insurance) An overturn.
Example: "collision and upset": impact with another object or an overturn for whatever reason.
An upset stomach.
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.
The dangerous situation where the flight attitude or airspeed of an aircraft is outside the designed bounds of operation, possibly resulting in loss of control.

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disruptiondisturbance

verb

To make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy.
Example: I’m sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know.
To disturb, disrupt or adversely alter (something).
Example: Introducing a foreign species can upset the ecological balance.
To tip or overturn (something).
To defeat unexpectedly.
Example: Truman upset Dewey in the 1948 US presidential election.
To be upset or knocked over.
Example: The carriage upset when the horse bolted.
To set up; to put upright.
To thicken and shorten, as a heated piece of iron, by hammering on the end.
To shorten (a tire) in the process of resetting, originally by cutting it and hammering on the ends.

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disruptdisturbforsetturn upside downinvert

adjective

(of a person) Angry, distressed or unhappy.
Example: 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.
Example: His stomach was upset, so he didn't want to move.

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angrydistressedunhappy

Real examples of "upsetting" in context

Tom Cruise on Doing Incredibly Dangerous Stunts, Mission Impossible & Top Gun with Val Kilmer

Interview

To her, was it upsetting?

11:44

Bob Odenkirk Has a Fire in His Belly While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones