Word Games Pro Dictionary

upset

noun verb adjective

Disturbance or disruption.

Quick reference

Word Facts

Word length
5
Starts with
U
Ends with
T
Contains
PS
Scrabble score
7
Database source
OEWN 2025 Core

How it sounds

Pronunciation

ˈʌpsɛt

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Audio Pronunciation

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Meaning

Definitions

noun

  1. Disturbance or disruption.

    “My late arrival caused the professor considerable upset.”

  2. An unexpected victory of a competitor or candidate that was not favored to win.

  3. (automobile insurance) An overturn.

    “"collision and upset": impact with another object or an overturn for whatever reason.”

  4. An upset stomach.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

verb

  1. To make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy.

    “I’m sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know.”

  2. To disturb, disrupt or adversely alter (something).

    “Introducing a foreign species can upset the ecological balance.”

  3. To tip or overturn (something).

  4. To defeat unexpectedly.

    “Truman upset Dewey in the 1948 US presidential election.”

  5. To be upset or knocked over.

    “The carriage upset when the horse bolted.”

  6. To set up; to put upright.

  7. To thicken and shorten, as a heated piece of iron, by hammering on the end.

  8. To shorten (a tire) in the process of resetting, originally by cutting it and hammering on the ends.

adjective

  1. (of a person) Angry, distressed or unhappy.

    “He was upset when she refused his friendship.”

  2. (of a stomach or gastrointestinal tract, referred to as stomach) Feeling unwell, nauseated, or ready to vomit.

    “His stomach was upset, so he didn't want to move.”

In context

Example Sentences

My late arrival caused the professor considerable upset.
"collision and upset": impact with another object or an overturn for whatever reason.
I’m sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know.
Introducing a foreign species can upset the ecological balance.
Truman upset Dewey in the 1948 US presidential election.
The carriage upset when the horse bolted.
He was upset when she refused his friendship.
His stomach was upset, so he didn't want to move.

Similar words

Synonyms

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