# trouble
## English
### Etymology

Verb is from Middle English troublen, trublen, turblen, troblen, borrowed from Old French troubler, trobler, trubler, metathetic variants of tourbler, torbler, turbler, from Vulgar Latin *turbulō, from Latin turbula (“disorderly group, a little crowd or people”), diminutive of turba (“stir; crowd”). The noun is from Middle English truble, troble, from Old French troble, from the verb.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) enPR: trŭbʹəl; IPA: /ˈtɹʌb(ə)l/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈtɹʌb(ə)l/, /ˈtɹə-/
* Audio (General American):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʌbəl
* Hyphenation: trou‧ble

### Noun

trouble (countable and uncountable, plural troubles)
* A distressing or dangerous situation.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:difficult situation
    He was in trouble when the rain started.
* A difficulty, problem, condition, or action contributing to such a situation.
    The trouble was a leaking brake line.
    The bridge column magnified the trouble with a slight tilt in the wrong direction.
** 1667, John Milton, “Book XI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:Lest the fiend […] some new trouble raise.
** c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles.
* A person liable to place others or themselves in such a situation.
** 2021, Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback, “I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor's Version)”, in Red (Taylor's Version)‎, performed by Taylor Swift:’Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in So shame on me no-ow
* The state of being troubled, disturbed, or distressed mentally; unease, disquiet.
    Synonyms: anguish, torment; see also Thesaurus:distress
** 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XL, page 63:Yet oft when sundown skirts the moor ⁠An inner trouble I behold, ⁠A spectral doubt which makes me cold, That I shall be thy mate no more, […]
* Objectionable feature of something or someone; problem, drawback, weakness, failing, or shortcoming.
    Synonyms: pain in the neck; see also Thesaurus:defect, Thesaurus:hindrance, Thesaurus:nuisance
    The trouble with that suggestion is that we lack the funds to put it in motion.
* Violent or turbulent occurrence or event; unrest, disturbance.
    Synonyms: palaver, turmoil; see also Thesaurus:commotion
    the troubles in Northern Ireland
** 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:“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. […] ”
* Efforts taken or expended, typically beyond the normal required.
    It’s no trouble for me to edit it.
** 1850, William Cullen Bryant, Letters of a Traveller:She never took the trouble to close them.
** 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:Indeed, by the report of our elders, this nervous preparation for old age is only trouble thrown away.
* Difficulty in doing something.
    She has trouble eating.
* Health problems, ailment, generally of some particular part of the body.
    Synonyms: affliction, malady; see also Thesaurus:disease
    He’s been in hospital with some heart trouble.
* A malfunction.
    My old car has engine trouble.
* Liability to punishment; conflict with authority.
    He had some trouble with the law.
* (mining) A fault or interruption in a stratum.
* (Cockney rhyming slang) Wife. Clipping of trouble and strife.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:wife
* (slang, dated) An unplanned, unwanted or undesired pregnancy.
** 1971, Bob Stone, “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves”, performed by Cher:I never had schoolin’ but he taught me well / With his smooth southern style / Three months later I’m a gal in trouble / And I haven’t seen him for a while.

#### Derived terms

* ask for trouble
* a trouble shared is a trouble halved
* borrow trouble
* distrouble
* double-trouble
* double trouble
* engine trouble
* finger trouble
* for one's trouble
* foul trouble
* get into trouble
* girl trouble
* good trouble
* go through the trouble
* go to the trouble
* in a world of trouble
* in trouble
* look for trouble
* picking quarrels and making trouble
* picking quarrels and provoking trouble
* picking quarrels and stirring up trouble
* take the trouble
* teething trouble, teething troubles
* The Troubles
* time trouble
* trouble and strife
* trouble at mill
* trouble at the mill
* trouble at t'mill
* trouble causer
* trouble-causer
* troubled
* trouble-free
* trouble in paradise
* trouble light
* trouble-maker
* troublemaker, trouble maker
* trouble-monger
* troubler
* troubleshoot
* troubleshooter
* troubleshooting
* troublesome
* trouble spot
* trouble ticket
* trouble ticket system
* trubs
* women's troubles

#### Collocations

* make, spell, stir up, ask for, etc.

#### Descendants

* Jersey Dutch: tröbel

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

#### See also

* Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take for uses and meaning of trouble collocated with these words.

### Verb

trouble (third-person singular simple present troubles, present participle troubling, simple past and past participle troubled)
* (transitive, now rare) To disturb, stir up, agitate (a medium, especially water).
    Synonyms: inturbidate, muddle, roil, stir
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 5:4:For an Angel went downe at a certaine season into the poole, and troubled the water:
** 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, line 1100:God looking forth will trouble all his Hoſt
* (transitive) To mentally distress; to cause (someone) to be anxious or perplexed.
    Synonyms: distress, torment; see also Thesaurus:vex
    What she said about narcissism is troubling me.
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 12:27:Now is my soule troubled, and what shall I say? Father, saue me from this houre, but for this cause came I vnto this houre.
** c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 281, column 2:Take the Boy to you: he ſo troubles me, / ’Tis paſt enduring.
** 1693, [John Locke], “§65”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC, page 68:Never trouble your ſelf about thoſe Faults in them, which you know Age will cure.
* (transitive) In weaker sense: to bother or inconvenience.
    Synonyms: discommode, hassle, incommode; see also Thesaurus:annoy
    I will not trouble you to deliver the letter.
* (transitive, of ailments, etc.) To physically afflict.
    My bad knee is troubling me.
* (reflexive or intransitive) To take pains to do something; to bother.
    Synonyms: make an effort, take great pains
    I won’t trouble to post the letter today; I can do it tomorrow.
* (intransitive) To worry; to be anxious.
    Synonyms: angst, anxietize, cark, fret
** 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.26:Why trouble about the future? It is wholly uncertain.

#### Derived terms

* trouble the scorers

#### Related terms

* turbid
* turbulent

#### Descendants

* → Jersey Dutch: tröble

#### Translations
### Further reading

* “trouble”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “trouble”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* -buterol, Boulter, boulter

## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tʁubl/
* Audio:(file)

### Etymology 1

Deverbal from troubler or from Old French troble.

#### Noun

trouble m (plural troubles)
* trouble
    fauteur de troubles ― troublemaker
* (medicine, psychiatry) disorder
    trouble bipolaire ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    trouble de la personnalité ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    trouble de l’érection ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    trouble de l’humeur ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    trouble du sommeil ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    trouble mental ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    trouble obsessionnel compulsif ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    trouble psychiatrique ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    trouble psychique ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

##### Descendants

* → German: Trubel

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Old French troble, probably from a Vulgar Latin *turbulus (with metathesis), itself perhaps an alteration of Latin turbidus with influence from turbulentus; cf. also turbula. Compare Catalan tèrbol, Romanian tulbure.

#### Adjective

trouble (plural troubles)
* (of a liquid) murky, turbid, muddy, thick, clouded, cloudy; not clear

##### Derived terms

* pêcher en eau trouble

### Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

trouble
* inflection of troubler:
** first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
** second-person singular imperative

### Further reading

* “trouble”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.