I. up ‧ set 1 S2 /ˌʌpˈset◂/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ upset , ↑ upsetting ; verb : ↑ upset ; noun : ↑ upset ]
1 . [not before noun] unhappy and worried because something unpleasant or disappointing has happened
upset by/about/at etc
She was deeply upset about the way her father treated her.
upset that
Debbie was upset that he didn’t spend more time with her.
2 . be upset with somebody if you are upset with someone, you are angry and annoyed with them:
You’re not still upset with me, are you?
3 . upset stomach an illness that affects the stomach and makes you feel sick
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THESAURUS
▪ upset [not before noun] unhappy and worried because something unpleasant or disappointing has happened:
Miss Hurley is too upset to speak to anyone at the moment.
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She’s still deeply upset about her uncle’s death.
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He’s upset that he didn’t get an invitation to their wedding.
▪ hurt upset and shocked because someone has been unkind to you, especially someone that you trusted and thought was a friend:
Bill felt deeply hurt when he realized she had lied to him.
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Gretta was really hurt that none of her friends came to visit her in the hospital.
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Jackson was said to be ‘deeply hurt’ by the newspaper reports about him.
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He had a hurt expression on his face.
▪ distressed very upset:
Priests have been counselling distressed relatives of the victims.
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She was visibly distressed after hearing of her husband’s accident.
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Matilda was too distressed to speak.
▪ distraught written so upset and worried that you are unable to do normal things, and nothing can make you feel calm:
Benson was so distraught over the breakup of his marriage that he felt like committing suicide.
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The distraught parents of the missing baby have made a public appeal for her return.
▪ in a (terrible) state British English informal so upset that you cannot stop crying:
She called me one night in a terrible state, saying she wanted to die.
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I could see that she was in a bit of a state.
▪ be worked up informal to be very upset or angry, so that you think things are worse than they really are:
I was too worked up to sleep.
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It’s not worth getting worked up about. Anyone can make a mistake.
II. up ‧ set 2 S2 /ʌpˈset/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle upset , present participle upsetting ) [transitive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ upset , ↑ upsetting ; verb : ↑ upset ; noun : ↑ upset ]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: Probably from upset 'to set up, raise' (15-17 centuries) ]
1 . MAKE SOMEBODY UNHAPPY to make someone feel unhappy or worried:
Don’t do anything that would upset him.
2 . CHANGE SOMETHING to change a plan or situation in a way that causes problems:
The chemicals upset the balance of the environment.
3 . MAKE SOMETHING FALL to push something over without intending to:
He upset a bowl of soup.
4 . DEFEAT to defeat an opponent who is considered to be much better than you:
Jones upset the 40th-ranked American, Cunningham.
5 . upset the apple cart informal to completely spoil someone’s plans
6 . upset your stomach to affect your stomach and make you feel sick:
The soup was revolting and upset my stomach.
—upsetting adjective
III. up ‧ set 3 /ˈʌpset/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ upset , ↑ upsetting ; verb : ↑ upset ; noun : ↑ upset ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] worry and unhappiness caused by an unexpected problem:
If you are the victim of a burglary, the emotional upset can affect you for a long time.
2 . [countable] when a person or team defeats an opponent who is considered to be much better than them:
There was a major upset when the young skater took the gold medal.
3 . stomach upset an illness that affects the stomach and makes you feel sick
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THESAURUS
▪ victory noun [uncountable and countable] a situation in which you win a battle, game, election, or ↑ dispute :
The crowds celebrated Italy’s victory against England.
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The party won a comfortable victory in the general election.
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We’re very confident of victory.
▪ win noun [countable] a victory in a sports game or in a competition:
It was an important win for the Yankees.
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A couple from London are celebrating a big lottery win.
▪ triumph noun [countable] written an important victory, especially in war or politics:
Thatcher’s greatest triumph was becoming the UK’s first female Prime Minister.
▪ conquest noun [countable] a situation in which one country wins a war against another country and takes control of it:
the Spanish conquest of Mexico
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Caesar is well-known for his military conquests.
▪ landslide noun [countable] an election victory in which one party or ↑ candidate gets far more votes than their opponents:
In 1945, there was a Labour landslide.
▪ walkover especially British English , cakewalk American English noun [countable] informal a very easy victory:
The match was expected to be a walkover for Brazil.
▪ upset noun [countable] a situation in which the person, team, party etc that was expected to win is defeated:
Truman pulled off the greatest election upset in United States history.