bother vs fret

bother and fret both are nouns.

bother and fret both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
bother	Yes	No	Yes	No
fret	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, fret is a hyponym of bother; that is, fret is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than bother:

bother: cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
fret: gnaw into; make resentful or angry

Other hyponyms of bother include get, get under one's skin, eat into, grate, rankle, peeve, ruffle, beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke, antagonise, antagonize.

bother (noun)	fret (noun)
something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness	a small bar of metal across the fingerboard of a musical instrument; when the string is stopped by a finger at the metal bar it will produce a note of the desired pitch
an angry disturbance	an ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines (often in relief)
	a spot that has been worn away by abrasion or erosion
	agitation resulting from active worry

bother (verb)	fret (verb)
cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations	wear away or erode
make confused or perplexed or puzzled	remove soil or rock
make nervous or agitated	cause friction
intrude or enter uninvited	be too tight; rub or press
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself	decorate with an interlaced design
to cause inconvenience or discomfort to	carve a pattern into
	be agitated or irritated
	cause annoyance in
	gnaw into; make resentful or angry
	worry unnecessarily or excessively
	become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
	provide (a musical instrument) with frets

Difference between bother and fret

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