Advertisement
Advertisement
distress
[ dih-stres ]
noun
- great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble:
distress over his mother's illness.
Synonyms: , , ,
Antonyms:
- a state of extreme necessity or misfortune:
After the stock market crash, he found himself in great financial distress.
Synonyms: ,
- the state of a ship or airplane requiring immediate assistance, as when on fire in transit.
- that which causes pain, suffering, trouble, danger, etc.:
His willful disobedience was a distress to his parents.
- liability or exposure to pain, suffering, trouble, etc.; danger:
a damsel in distress.
- Law.
- the legal seizure and detention of the goods of another as security or satisfaction for debt, etc.; the act of distraining.
- the thing seized in distraining.
adjective
- afflicted with or suffering distress:
distress livestock; distress wheat.
- caused by or indicative of distress or hardship:
distress prices; distress borrowing.
verb (used with object)
It distresses Grandpa when you bring up the war.
- to subject to pressure, stress, or strain; embarrass or exhaust by strain:
to be distressed by excessive work.
- to compel by pain or force of circumstances:
Her faithlessness distressed him into ending their marriage.
- to dent, scratch, or stain (furniture, lumber, or the like) so as to give an appearance of age:
She used an old bicycle chain to distress the surface of the table before applying a deep stain.
distress
/ ɪˈٰɛ /
verb
- to cause mental pain to; upset badly
- usually passive to subject to financial or other trouble
- to damage (esp furniture), as by scratching or denting it, in order to make it appear older than it is
- law a less common word for distrain
- archaic.to compel
noun
- mental pain; anguish
- the act of distressing or the state of being distressed
- physical or financial trouble
- in distress(of a ship, aircraft, etc) in dire need of help
- law
- the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of or in satisfaction of a debt, claim, etc; distraint
- the property thus seized
- ( as modifier )
distress merchandise
Derived Forms
- 徱ˈٰԲ, adverb
- 徱ˈٰԲ, adjectivenoun
- 徱ˈٰڳܱ, adverb
- 徱ˈٰڳܱ, adjective
- 徱ˈٰڳܱness, noun
Other Word Forms
- 徱·ٰ·Բ· adverb
- ·徱·ٰ noun verb (used with object)
Word History and Origins
Origin of distress1
Word History and Origins
Origin of distress1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
The prosecutor added that the second victim, who had been walking her dog at the time felt "distressed and violated".
"It is a very low humming, droning, pulsating noise. It's incredibly intrusive and distressing," she said.
The Health Foundation argues that the NHS was "in distress" this winter with A&E waiting times reaching a record high.
He said he saw somebody being treated by paramedics further up Otley Road and said he saw "a couple of distressed individuals, students mostly, talking about somebody being hurt".
The Green Party said in a statement that the guidance was likely to cause "distress" to the trans community as well as "further confusion to employers, businesses and service providers" .
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse