noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A commotion, a tempest. countable, uncountable

   "Let the great gods, / That keep this dreadful pother o’er our heads, / Find out their enemies now."

2. 2
   an excited state of agitation wordnet

Verb

1. 1
   To make a bustle or stir; to be fussy. intransitive
2. 2
   make a fuss; be agitated wordnet
3. 3
   To puzzle or perplex. transitive
4. 4
   make upset or troubled wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

ditherabashaddleaddle the witsadoaggravate

Example

More examples

"Let the great gods, / That keep this dreadful pother o’er our heads, / Find out their enemies now."

Etymology

Origin uncertain. Compare Dutch peuteren (“to rummage, poke”), and English potter, pudder.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.