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

In response to their distress aboard the Lincoln, Fox News host Joey Jones asked a heartless question: “How weak are you?”

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

He was found kneeling in front of a piano and striking the keys, in apparent distress.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

Psychiatrists and people close to Clancy, as well as her estranged husband, described her distress during the five-week trial.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Elevated delinquencies don’t indicate a program in distress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

She took a careful breath and worked at draining the distress from her face.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

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

“It distresses us to return work which is not perfect,” the note read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2024

The turn against immigration distresses some Texas business owners.

From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2022

Yet his possible removal to Zimbabwe is what really distresses him.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2021

The sun distresses you like a crowd, a noisy, invasive crowd that makes you cup your ears, that makes you close your eyes, that makes you want to hide.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

The U.S. attorney for northern Mississippi highlighted a former federal employee convicted of plundering a pandemic-era loan program for distressed small businesses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Lavie appeared in a jailhouse-yellow shirt and blue pants and looked distressed throughout the hearing, nodding and gesturing to friends at times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

The Pontiac, Mich., company said it was suspending its common-stock payouts and getting financing from Oaktree Capital Management, a lender to distressed companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Liverpool at the time was seen as a distressed asset, at least financially.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Ivy only mouthed the word at Josie, but her face looked as distressed as if she were screaming.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK had offered £5m to help the Nepalese government following the floods, saying it was a "very distressing and devastating situation".

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Clancy's case is "an incredibly distressing and rare outcome of postpartum psychosis," Wilson told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Physiological reactions to memories of criticism decreased, indicating that recalling distressing experiences no longer triggered the same level of intense stress.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

Yes, it’s weird and distressing, watching billionaires play catch with our ballclubs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

“The girl has learned her lesson. Make her clean up the mess and let her be. It is distressing to me to see such a scene. It might mar our child.”

From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper