[trou.ble] vb trou.bled ; trou.bling [ME, fr. OF tourbler, troubler, fr. (assumed) VL turbulare, fr. turbulus agitated, alter. of L turbulentus--more at turbulent] vt (13c) 1 a: to agitate mentally or spiritually: worry, disturb b (1) archaic: mistreat, oppress (2): to produce physical disorder in: afflict "troubled by a cold" c: to put to exertion or inconvenience
2: to put into confused motion "the wind troubled the sea" ~ vi 1: to become mentally agitated: worry "refused to ~ over trifles"
2: to make an effort: be at pains "did not ~ to come" -- trou.bler n
[2]trouble n (13c) 1: the quality or state of being troubled esp. mentally
2: public unrest or disturbance "there's ~ brewing downtown"
3: an instance of trouble "used to disguise her frustrations and despair by making light of her ~s --Current Biog."
4: a state or condition of distress, annoyance, or difficulty "in ~ with the law" "heading for ~" "got into financial ~": as a: a condition of physical distress or ill health: ailment "back ~" "heart ~" b: a condition of mechanical malfunction "engine ~" c: a condition of doing something badly or only with great difficulty "has ~ reading" "has ~ breathing" d: pregnancy out of wedlock "got a girl in ~"
5: an effort made: pains "took the ~ to do it right"
6. a: a cause of distress, annoyance, or inconvenience "don't mean to be any ~" "what's the ~?" b: a negative feature: drawback "the ~ with you is you're too honest" "the main ~ with electronic systems is the overreliance on them --John Perham" c: the unhappy or sad fact "the ~ is, I need the money"