troubles

Troubles is the plural form of trouble, used to describe difficulties, problems, or distress in a wide range of contexts. It can refer to personal issues, practical obstacles, or situations that cause worry or annoyance. The term also appears in phrases that describe ongoing or recurring challenges, such as technical faults or social unrest.

As a verb, to trouble means to cause someone to worry or to bother, disturb, or burden. The noun form trouble denotes a condition of difficulty or danger. In technical and professional settings, related terms like troubleshooting describe the process of diagnosing and resolving problems in devices, software, or systems. In everyday language, phrases such as get into trouble or cause trouble are common ways to describe risk, conflict, or misbehavior.

The Troubles is the common name for a historical conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted from the late 1960s to 1998. It involved mainly nationalist/republican communities seeking a united Ireland and mainly unionist/loyalist communities wanting to remain part of the United Kingdom, with armed paramilitary groups, the police, and the British Army playing major roles. The period included bombings, assassinations, urban violence, and significant civilian casualties. The conflict gradually transitioned to a political process, culminating in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which established a framework for governance and reduced large-scale violence. The term is typically capitalized when referring to this specific historical era; in other contexts, it remains lowercase.

In modern usage, troubles commonly refer to difficulties or problems in daily life, as well as to the general sense of disruption in systems, organizations, or communities.