fuss

1. 1.

   an excited state of agitation

   “he was in a dither”

   “there was a terrible flap about the theft”

   Synonymsditherpothertizzyflap

   Broaderagitation
2. 2.

   an angry disturbance

   “he didn't want to make a fuss”

   “they had labor trouble”

   “a spot of bother”

   Synonymstroublebotherhassle

   Broaderperturbation
3. 3.

   a quarrel about petty points

   Synonymsbickerbickeringspattiffsquabblepettifoggery

   Broaderquarrel
4. 4.

   a rapid active commotion

   Synonymsbustlehustleflurryadostir

   Broadercommotion

1. 1.

   worry unnecessarily or excessively

   “don't fuss too much over the grandchildren--they are quite big now”

   Synonymsnigglefret

   Broaderworry

   Narrowerscrupledither
2. 2.

   care for like a mother

   “She fusses over her husband”

   Synonymsmotheroverprotect

   Broadercare

Other forms of fuss

plural

fusses·

past tense

fussed·

present participle

fussing·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about fuss

What does fuss mean?

fuss means "an excited state of agitation". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in fuss?

fuss has 1 syllable: fuss. In IPA it is /ˈfʌs/.

What is another word for fuss?

Close synonyms include dither, pother, tizzy, flap, trouble. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is fuss a common word?

fuss is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.