distress

American  

[dih-stres] / dɪˈstrɛs /

noun

1. great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble.

   distress over his mother's illness.

   Synonyms:

   tribulation, adversity, anguish, agony

   Antonyms:

   comfort

2. a state of extreme necessity or misfortune.

   After the stock market crash, he found himself in great financial distress.

   Synonyms:

   destitution, need

3. the state of a ship or airplane requiring immediate assistance, as when on fire in transit.

4. that which causes pain, suffering, trouble, danger, etc..

   His willful disobedience was a distress to his parents.

5. liability or exposure to pain, suffering, trouble, etc.; danger.

   a damsel in distress.

6. Law.

   1. the legal seizure and detention of the goods of another as security or satisfaction for debt, etc.; the act of distraining.

   2. the thing seized in distraining.

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adjective

1. afflicted with or suffering distress.

   distress livestock; distress wheat.

2. caused by or indicative of distress or hardship.

   distress prices; distress borrowing.

verb (used with object)

• distresses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• distressed,
  past participle,  past
• distressing
  present participle

1. to afflict with great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; trouble; worry; bother.

   It distresses Grandpa when you bring up the war.

2. to subject to pressure, stress, or strain; embarrass or exhaust by strain.

   to be distressed by excessive work.

3. to compel by pain or force of circumstances.

   Her faithlessness distressed him into ending their marriage.

4. 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 British  

/ dɪˈstrɛs /

verb

1. to cause mental pain to; upset badly

2. (usually passive) to subject to financial or other trouble

3. to damage (esp furniture), as by scratching or denting it, in order to make it appear older than it is

4. law a less common word for distrain

5. archaic to compel

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noun

1. mental pain; anguish

2. the act of distressing or the state of being distressed

3. physical or financial trouble

4. (of a ship, aircraft, etc) in dire need of help

5. law

   1. the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of or in satisfaction of a debt, claim, etc; distraint

   2. the property thus seized

   3. ( as modifier )

      distress merchandise

Synonym Usage

See sorrow.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• distressfulness
  noun
• predistress
  noun
• distressful
  adjective
• distressing
  adjective
• distressfully
  adverb
• distressingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• distressing
  present
• distressed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• distress
  simple
• distresses
  simple
• have distressed
  perfect
• has distressed
  perfect
• am distressing
  progressive
• are distressing
  progressive
• is distressing
  progressive
• have been distressing
  perfect progressive
• has been distressing
  perfect progressive

Past

• distressed
  simple
• had distressed
  perfect
• was distressing
  progressive
• were distressing
  progressive
• had been distressing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will distress
  simple
• will have distressed
  perfect
• will be distressing
  progressive
• will have been distressing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of distress

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun destresse, distresse, from Anglo-French distresse, destresse, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin districtia, equivalent to Latin district(us) “exercise of justice” + noun suffix -ia; the verb developed from the noun; see origin at district, -ia

Explanation

If you are in distress, you are in trouble. You're hurting — either physically or mentally. See the word stress hanging out at the end of distress? There's a good reason for that. The noun distress refers to a state of severe anxiety or strain, often brought about by failing to study for an exam, harassing grizzly bears, or borrowing your sister's clothes without asking. When used as a verb, to distress means to cause all that pain, suffering and anxiety — in other words, to stress somebody out.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distress distresses distressed distressing

Svitlana maintains a brave smile throughout our conversation, but her distress is painfully obvious.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The distress ratio of software loans is over 25% and one-tenth of all credit loans are now pay-in-kind — whereby issuers pay creditors with new loans instead of interest.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

But executives are petrified of reducing dividends because it suggests distress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

In the short term there is one thing that people can do to help bees in distress.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

It was a plaintive sound, like a signal of distress.

From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi

Sleeping out in the stifling summer heat leaves her exhausted, but what distresses her more is not knowing when or how this situation will end.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

“What distresses Angelenos the most are encampments. That’s where people were dying on the street,” Bass told reporters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2023

He would like to be able to move on because every time something about the case comes up, it distresses his daughter all over again.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2022

“As they help lead us out of our long bout with the pandemic they will provide balm for our distresses and delight for our hearts.”

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2022

The moon distresses you by silently reminding you of your solitude; you open your eyes wide to escape your loneliness.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Indeed, Grande seems distressed by the discourse around her body, and she has said she wants people to leave her alone.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

"The government has powers to to bring a distressed water company under special measures, and let's see if the government needs to, wants to use those powers."

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

MetroLoft joined forces with David Werner, a longtime Manhattan office investor who built a reputation buying underperforming and distressed office buildings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Makhijani told an associate he took extra precautions because wanted to insulate himself from litigation and that “they were sharks in the distressed world who took advantage of people,” the affidavit stated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

He bared his wrist, and offered it to me: the blood was forsaking his cheek and lips, they were growing livid; I was distressed on all hands.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

The circumstances leading to Hilton’s distressing livestream and Pearl’s filmed execution are entirely dissimilar.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

"I discovered that he was still in there almost two years after we'd had the funeral," she said, describing the discovery as "distressing".

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Det Ch Insp John Bonner said the force's thoughts were "firmly with Harry's family and loved ones at what is an extremely difficult and distressing time for them".

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

In certain individuals, spontaneous oto-acoustic emissions may be perceived as distressing tinnitus.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

In addition to its bulk was the distressing awareness that several loops of it were wound around my body.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins