distraught
Americanadjective
-
distracted; deeply agitated.
-
mentally deranged; crazed.
adjective
-
distracted or agitated
-
rare mad
Other Word Forms
- distraughtly adverb
- overdistraught adjective
- undistraught adjective
Etymology
Origin of distraught
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English variant of obsolete distract “distracted,” by association with straught, old past participle of stretch; distract
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Amid the pandemonium, Cobolli comforted Bergs as his distraught opponent sat on the Belgium team bench with his head in his hands.
From BBC
One distraught mother in Nyamukubi said her husband had survived and was in hospital but all her children were gone.
From BBC
Carmen is discomforted by the sanctioned brutality around her — early on, she witnesses distraught neighbors being dragged away in the streets.
From New York Times
Schneck has been publicly distraught since her son Aaron Carter was found dead in his bathtub last November.
From Los Angeles Times
Singh's conviction and sentencing had brought her some solace, but to see him walk out of prison has left her heartbroken and distraught.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
