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to pother

to pother

9.9
Cause someone to feel worried or upset
  • verb
  • /ˈpɑːðər/
  • Archaic
: inquietar
  • He tends to pother everyone around him with unnecessary worries.

Examples

  • The children pothered their babysitter with endless questions.

  • He tends to pother his friends with constant worries about their jobs.

  • Please do not pother yourself over such a small disagreement.

  • Don't pother!

  • Don't pother over minor details.

  • Please do not pother yourself with thoughts of what might go wrong.

  • The toddler pothered his parents by crying for more snacks during the movie.

Synonyms

to upset
vsto pother
273 1.0

Make someone feel sad or worried

is about general agitation or trouble rather than only sadness or worry
to stir up
vsto pother
126 4.8

To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear

is less about deliberate provocation and more about causing agitation
to nettle
vsto pother
1 6.8

To annoy or upset someone in a way that feels sharp

produces broader disturbance or worry rather than a sharp sting of annoyance
to get one's dander up
vsto pother
  • Informal
1 9.1

To make someone angry

leads to general agitation or being troubled rather than clear anger
to disgruntle
vsto pother
1 8.0

To make someone feel unhappy or annoyed

causes active agitation or distress rather than mere dissatisfaction
to make one's blood boil
vsto pother
  • Informal
7.0

To cause someone to feel very angry

causes milder agitation or distress rather than extreme anger

Antonyms

123 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

How Troubled

to terrify
63 3.2
to alarm
47 1.9
to pother
  • Archaic
9.9
to upset
273 1.0
to annoy
144 1.0

Surface Forms

pother infinitive
pothered past
pothered past participle
pothering present participle
pothers third person singular

Etymology

The verb pother is related to bother and comes from older words that describe a noisy fuss, so think of someone worrying or moving about in a disturbed way. That's why to pother someone is to make them upset or agitated.