distraught
Americanadjective
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distracted; deeply agitated.
-
mentally deranged; crazed.
adjective
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distracted or agitated
-
rare mad
Other Word Forms
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; see distract
Explanation
If you are upset, you are distraught. If you don't want to explain why you are pulling your hair out, just utter "Leave me alone; I'm distraught." It'll work. While distraught may sound like an old Germanic past participle, it is actually an alteration of distract from the Latin distrahere "to draw in different directions." If you are distraught, you are so upset that it's hard to think straight, hence your mind is "drawn in different directions."
Vocabulary lists containing distraught
The Great Gatsby
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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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.
Serrano, who has served in the military for nearly 28 years, told the BBC that his wife's detention had left him distraught.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
The elderly Peggy invites the distraught traveler back to her welcoming old house to restore herself.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
So with thoughtful invention, Ozon gives the distraught Djemila — the murdered Algerian’s sister, unnamed in the book — a voice to go with her ignored status.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Thompson’s Barkley comforted a distraught faux-Bondi by saying she could have a future in sports.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
He sat glumly through the rest of the hearing, holding his head, which I found even more disheartening than when he was argumentative and distraught.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
