What does "upset" mean?
Disturbance or disruption.
Upset
/ˌʌpˈsɛt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Disturbance or disruption.
- Grammar: upset is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: discompose, disconcert, disturb, disturbance.
- Useful contrasts: carefree, calm classroom, steady.
- Usage evidence: The journalist was too upset to distinguish vice from virtue.
How to use "upset"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "upset" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "upset" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "upset" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "upset" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "upset" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "discompose" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "upset", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Disturbance or disruption. uncountable
"My late arrival caused the professor considerable upset."
- 2 an improbable and unexpected victory wordnet
- 3 An unexpected victory of a competitor or candidate that was not favored to win. countable
"But it is probably the biggest upset for the away side since Ronnie Radford smashed a famous goal as Hereford defeated Newcastle 2-1 in 1972."
- 4 the act of upsetting something wordnet
- 5 An overturn. countable, uncountable
""collision and upset": impact with another object or an overturn for whatever reason."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 the act of disturbing the mind or body wordnet
- 7 An upset stomach. countable, uncountable
"“Bob, let's cancel the baby sitter. With this upset stomach, I can't go out tonight.” “Sure you can, Liz! Try Pepto-Bismol. Hospital tests prove it relieves upsets. And it's great for indigestion or nausea, too!”"
- 8 a tool used to thicken or spread metal (the end of a bar or a rivet etc.) by forging or hammering or swaging wordnet
- 9 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. countable, uncountable
- 10 a physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning wordnet
- 11 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. countable, uncountable
"The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the unfavorable interaction of severe vertical air drafts and large longitudinal control displacements resulting in a longitudinal upset from which a successful recovery was not made."
- 12 an unhappy and worried mental state wordnet
- 13 A woven row supporting the foundation rods for the uprights of a basket. countable, uncountable
"Willow basket making, an artisan inserting bye-stakes in the upsets."
Verb
- 1 To make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy. transitive
"I’m sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know."
- 2 disturb the balance or stability of wordnet
- 3 To disturb, disrupt or adversely alter (something). transitive
"Introducing a foreign species can upset the ecological balance."
- 4 defeat suddenly and unexpectedly wordnet
- 5 To tip or overturn (something). transitive
"1924, W. D. Ross translator, Aristitle, Metaphysics, Book 1, Part 9, The Classical Library, Nashotah, Wisconsin, 2001. But this argument, which first Anaxagoras and later Eudoxus and certain others used, is very easily upset; for it is not difficult to collect many insuperable objections to such a view."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 form metals with a swage wordnet
- 7 To defeat unexpectedly. transitive
"Truman upset Dewey in the 1948 US presidential election."
- 8 move deeply wordnet
- 9 To be upset or knocked over. intransitive
"The carriage upset when the horse bolted."
- 10 cause to lose one's composure wordnet
- 11 To set up; to put upright. obsolete
"R. of Brunne with sail on mast upset"
- 12 cause to overturn from an upright or normal position wordnet
- 13 To thicken and shorten a soft or heated piece of metal, by forging or hammering on the end, to shape, for example, rivets or internal combustion engine valves.
- 14 To shorten (a tire) in the process of resetting, originally by cutting it and hammering on the ends.
- 15 To support with an upset (type of woven row). transitive
"Very coarse work is sided up without an upsett, or is upsetted with a pair instead of a wale."
Adjective
- 1 Angry, distressed, or unhappy predicative
"He was upset when she refused his friendship."
- 2 Feeling unwell, nauseated, or ready to vomit.
"His stomach was upset, so he didn't want to move."
Adjective
- 1 used of an unexpected defeat of a team favored to win wordnet
- 2 thrown into a state of disarray or confusion wordnet
- 3 afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief wordnet
- 4 having been turned so that the bottom is no longer the bottom wordnet
- 5 mildly physically distressed wordnet
Example
"The journalist was too upset to distinguish vice from virtue."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "upset"?
Common synonyms include: discompose, disconcert, disturb, disturbance, overturn, sadden.
How do you use "upset" in a sentence?
The journalist was too upset to distinguish vice from virtue.
How do you pronounce "upset"?
Pronounced /ˌʌpˈsɛt/.
Etymology
From Middle English upset (“the act of setting up; establishment”), from Middle English upsetten, corresponding to up- + set. Cognate with Middle Low German upset (“setup; arrangement”).