worrisome

Etymology

From worry +‎ -some.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwʌɹisəm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwʌɹisəm/, /ˈwɝisəm/
• (African-American Vernacular) IPA^(key): [ˈwɜː(ə)səm]

• Audio (US, without the hurry–furry merger):

  (file)

Adjective

worrisome (comparative more worrisome or (rare) worrisomer, superlative most worrisome or (rare) worrisomest)

1. Causing worry; perturbing or vexing.

   Synonym: worryful

   • 1909 February 6, Frances Boyd Calhoun, “Sweetheart and Partner”, in Miss Minerva and William Green Hill, Chicago, Ill.: The Reilly & Britton Co., published 1909 February 16, page 35:

     He ’s got a cow, too; she ’s got the worrisomest horns ever was. I believe she ’s a steer anyway.

   • 1960 May, Glenn C. Klingman, R. P. Upchurch, “Our ‘worrisomest’ weeds”, in Joe Elliott, editor, The Progressive Farmer, Carolinas-Virginia edition, volume 75, number 5, Birminham, Ala.: The Progressive Farmer Company, page 24, column 3:

     OUR “WORRISOMEST” WEEDS / Johnson grass and Bermuda grass will be growing fast by late May.

   • 1971, James Sherburne, “Spring in the Bluegrass”, in Hacey Miller: A Novel, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, pages 4–5:

     “[…] Just supposing Emily poisoned him, why would she have done it? What could she have against a four-year-old?” / Star sighed. “Mr. Hacey, you do ask me the worrisomest questions. How I know why somebody who maybe didn’t even poison somebody come to poison that somebody?”

   • 2000, Lee Baer, Getting Control (Revised Edition), →ISBN:

     “Doesn't everyone call his doctor every week or two for reassurance about some worrisome symptom?”

   • 2014, Bridie Hall, “Chloe” (chapter 7), in My Summer Roommate, Evernight Teen, →ISBN:

     “How can you be sure you won’t change your mind?” / For god’s sake, can’t he take a hint? / Maybe you’re not convincing enough? Because … you don’t want to be? / “Because I’m actively working on not changing my mind,” I say in order to drown out my evil inner voices. / “What if I’m actively working on swaying it?” / “Ugh! Stop it,” I say, but I can’t help but laugh. God, I think I like arguing with him. That’s very worrisome. Very, very worrisome. / It gets worrisomer when he leans towards me and asks very quietly and calmly, “Why?”

   • 2017 June 30, Keith Boag, “Could Trump spike a story in the Enquirer? Almost certainly: Keith Boag”, in CBC.ca‎, Ottawa, Ont.: CBC/Radio-Canada, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-07-01:

     There's more to The Morning Joe/Donald Trump spat than was apparent when the U.S. president launched his Twitter attack at the show's hosts on Thursday. New details add context to the story that make it both curiouser and curiouser and muckier and muckier — not to mention worrisomer.

2. (of a person) Inclined to worry.
   • 1988, Al Young, chapter 14, in Seduction by Light, New York, N.Y.: Delta Fiction, →ISBN, page 128:

     I use to would perform that song when I was singin in Chance’s band. We had a real sweet, dreamy, Dinah Washington-kinda arrangement of it that’d make even the worrisomest drunk pipe down and listen.

Anagrams

• wirerooms