Standard Lemma guide

botheration

intj · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌbɒðəˈɹeɪʃn̩/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌbɑðəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən

1

intj

Meaning 1

A mild expression of annoyance or exasperation: bother!

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, humorous, often

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The state of being bothered; annoyance, vexation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, humorous, often, uncountable

Examples

  • 1803, William Blake, Letter to his brother James Blake dated 30 January, 1803, in The Poetry and Prose of William Blake, edited by David V. Erdman, New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1970, p. 696, I write in great haste & with a head full of botheration about various projected works ...

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: irritation, annoyance, bother, exasperation, frustration, vexation

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An act of bothering or annoying.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, dated, humorous, often

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A person or thing that causes bother, inconvenience, trouble, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, dated, humorous, often

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nuisance

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • washing dishes was a nuisance before we got a dish washer
  • a bit of a bother
  • he's not a friend, he's an infliction

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: annoyance, bother, pain, infliction, pain in the neck, pain in the ass

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: negative stimulus

Narrower terms: nuisance, irritant, thorn, plague

6

noun

Meaning 6

the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: irritation, annoyance, vexation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: psychological state, psychological condition, mental state, mental condition

Narrower terms: bummer, huff, miff, seeing red, pinprick, restlessness, impatience, snit

History

Etymology

From bother + -ation (suffix indicating an action or process, or its result).

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Guyanese Creole English: botheration — person or thing that causes bother, etc.