Bother vs Trouble - What's the difference?
bother | trouble |
To annoy, to disturb, to irritate.
To feel care or anxiety; to make or take trouble; to be troublesome.
* Henry James
To do something which is of negligible inconvenience.
Fuss, ado.
* '>citation
Trouble, inconvenience.
A mild expression of annoyance.
* 1926 , A A Milne, Winnie the Pooh'', Methuen & Co., Ltd., Chapter 2 ''...in which Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place :
A distressful or dangerous situation.
A difficulty, problem, condition, or action contributing to such a situation.
* (John Milton)
* (William Shakespeare)
A violent occurrence or event.
* , chapter=7
, title= Efforts taken or expended, typically beyond the normal required.
* Bryant
*1881 , :
*:Indeed, by the report of our elders, this nervous preparation for old age is only trouble thrown away.
A malfunction.
Liability to punishment; conflict with authority.
(mining) A fault or interruption in a stratum.
To disturb, stir up, agitate (a medium, especially water).
* Bible, John v. 4
* Milton
To mentally distress; to cause (someone) to be anxious or perplexed.
* Bible, John xii. 27
* Shakespeare
* John Locke
In weaker sense: to bother; to annoy, pester.
To take pains to do something.
* 1946 , (Bertrand Russell), History of Western Philosophy , I.26:
Trouble is a synonym of bother.
In transitive terms the difference between bother and trouble
is that bother is to annoy, to disturb, to irritate while trouble is in weaker sense: to bother; to annoy, pester.As an interjection bother
is a mild expression of annoyance.bother
English
Verb
(en verb)- Would it bother you if I smoked?
- Why do I even bother to try?
- without bothering about it
- You didn't even bother to close the door.
Synonyms
* (annoy, disturb ): annoy, disturb, irritate, put out, vex * See alsoUsage notes
* This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive'' or the ''gerund (-ing) . SeeNoun
- There was a bit of bother at the hairdresser's when they couldn't find my appointment in the book.
- Yes, I can do that for you - it's no bother .
Interjection
- "Oh, help!" said Pooh. "I'd better go back."
- "Oh, bother !" said Pooh. "I shall have to go on."
- "I can't do either!" said Pooh. "Oh, help and bother !"
Synonyms
* blast, dang (US ), darntrouble
English
Noun
(en noun)- Lest the fiend some new trouble raise.
- Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles .
Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=“I don't know how you and the ‘head,’ as you call him, will get on, but I do know that if you call my duds a ‘livery’ again there'll be trouble . It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it. What I won't stand is to have them togs called a livery. […]”}}
- She never took the trouble to close them.
Usage notes
* Verbs often used with "trouble": make, spell, stir up, ask for, etc.Synonyms
* See alsoDerived terms
* ask for trouble * distrouble * double trouble * engine trouble * get into trouble * in trouble * teething troubles * trouble and strife * troubled * trouble-free * trouble in paradise * troublemaker/trouble maker * troubler * The Troubles * troubleshoot * troubleshooter * troubleshooting * troublesome * trouble spotSee also
* for uses and meaning of trouble collocated with these words.Verb
(troubl)- An angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water.
- God looking forth will trouble all his host.
- Now is my soul troubled .
- Take the boy to you; he so troubles me / 'Tis past enduring.
- Never trouble yourself about those faults which age will cure.
- Question 3 in the test is troubling me.
- I will not trouble you to deliver the letter.
- Why trouble about the future? It is wholly uncertain.