To cause someone to feel worried, anxious, or annoyed
Examples:
Something bothering you?"But the soil bothered him.To this amorous address Miss Brass briefly responded 'Bother!'
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Disturb
/dɪˈstɜːb/
To interrupt or upset someone or something
Examples:
"But too well, and that disturbs me.'I wonder,' I said, 'what the papers Ursula Bourne disturbed were?'Who is disturbing me?'
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
Bother often implies a minor irritation or nuisance whereas disturb usually suggests a more significant intrusion.
If something bothers you, it might annoy you but doesn't necessarily interrupt your activities; if something disturbs you, your actions can be halted by it.
Think of bother as a buzzing mosquito that annoys you, while disturb could be compared to a loud noise that wakes you from sleep.