LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
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“trouble” in Latin

The English word trouble itself goes back to Latin turba, through *turbulō.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

trouble s.
Pains, labor, opera: virium contentio: labor: negotium: studium. [SYN. in LABOR.] With great trouble, aegerrime: vix (scarcely): multa opera: magno labore: multo labore et sudore: multo negotio: without any trouble, facile: facili negotio: but mostly nullo negotio or sine negotio: to give one’s self trouble, multam operam consumere: to lose all one’s trouble, operam or operam et oleum perdere: frustra niti: to take trouble for anybody, niti pro aliquo: alicui operam praestare or dicare: to take trouble about anything, studere, operam dare or navare alicui rei (for the purpose of obtaining it): to take trouble to do anything, niti: eniti: laborare: elaborare. (The words are found in this connection and order.) eniti et efficere: eniti et contendere: contendere et laborare (all with ut): to take great trouble, omnibus viribus contendere: omnibus nervis conniti: omni ope atque opera eniti (all with ut). Don’t put yourself to any trouble, noli tibi molestiam exhibere: to take much trouble to no purpose, multam operam frustra consumere: to have trouble in anything, operam sustinere in aliqua re: to take or undertake the trouble, operam capere, suscipere, or obire: to spare no trouble, operae or labori non parcere: to submit to the trouble, aequo animo laborem ferre: to relieve anybody from the trouble, alicui laborem demere: I need not put myself to this trouble, hoc labore supersedere possum: it is not worth the trouble, non tanti est: it is worth the trouble, operae pretium est: don’t give yourself any trouble for me, noli mea causa laborare.
Annoyance, molestia: onus (burden): cura (anxiety): incommodum. To give anybody trouble, alicui negotium facessere or exhibere (facere doubtful, Krebs); molestiam alicui afferre, exhibere; molestia aliquem afficere; some trouble, aliquid aspergere molestiae (i. e., as a drawback; the other circumstances being of a favorable or happy kind). To be a trouble to anybody, alicui esse molestiae (Plaut.), oneri (Liv.): onerare aliquem (Cic.).
Affliction, Vid: To rest from his troubles, a vitae laboribus quietem capere.
Commotion, Vid.
trouble v.
To tease, annoy, negotium facessere, negotium or molestiam exhibere alicui. To trouble anybody with anything, obtundere aliquem aliqua re (e.g., litteris, rogitando); obstrepere alicui (e.g., litteris); with entreaties, precibus fatigare aliquem: molestiam alicui afferre; molestia aliquem afficere; alicui aliqua re molestum or gravem esse.
To disturb, disquiet, agitare (PROP., to put in motion; e.g., the water: hence to disturb, e.g., anyone, the mind): exagitare (PROP., to hunt up; hence to rouse, harass; e.g., one’s neighbors, the state): vexare (to attack): lacessere (to provoke to battle): carpere (to weaken by single, repeated attacks): commovere (to disturb the mind): sollicitare, sollicitum facere (to render anyone anxious or solicitous): pungere (with a pointed instrument, to touch sensibly): turbare, conturbare, perturbare (to perplex or confuse, to put out of tone). That troubles me, hoc male me habet: hoc me commovet, me pungit.
To give pain, afflict, contristare (in conversational style, in caelius, ap. Cic., Ep., 8, 9, quite at the end; frequently in Sen., and Col.). Usually expressed by a circumlocution with dolorem alicui facere, efficere, afferre, commovere, incutere: dolore aliquem officere. I am troubled, doleo: dolet mihi: aegre or moleste fero: to trouble one’s self about anything = to be vexed or harassed on account of it, dolere or maerere rem or re: dolorem ex re accipere, capere, suscipere, haurire: molestiam trahere ex re: (much), magnum dolorem ex re accipere: ex re magnam animo molestiam capere.
To trouble one’s self about anything = to care for it, laborare de re: curare aliquid: curae (☞ not curae cordique) mihi est aliquid: not to trouble one’s self about a thing, negligere, non curare aliquid: he has enough to trouble himself about, is rerum suarum satagit (comedy): not to trouble one’s self about anything at all, omni curatione et administratione rerum vacare: nihil omnino curare (of the heathen deities): soluto et quieto esse animo (to live without care; of men): to trouble one’s self to inquire or ask after anything, curare, quaerere aliquid; anquirere de aliquo or de aliqua re; alicujus rei rationem habere or ducere: I do not trouble myself about anyone, nihil curo aliquem: to trouble one’s self about other people’s concerns, aliena (negotia) curare, curare quae ad me non pertinent: anquirere de alieno: not to trouble one’s self about household concerns, omittere curas familiares: not to trouble one’s self about the opinions of others, non curare quid alii censeant: why should I trouble myself about it? quid mihi cum illa re? (what have I to do with it?): I do not trouble myself about it, nihil hoc ad me (scilicet, pertinet).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for trouble?
The usual Latin words for “trouble” are opus, labor, negōtium; also studium, molestia, onus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.