distressful

[dih-stres-fuh l]

adjective

causing or involving distress: the distressful circumstances of poverty and sickness.
full of, feeling, or indicating distress: a distressful cry.

Origin of distressful

First recorded in 1585–95; distress + -ful

Related formsdis·tress·ful·ly, adverbdis·tress·ful·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Your presence here is offensive to me and distressful to my niece.'
Barnaby Rudge
Charles Dickens
The voice of her weeping was like the distressful cry of the slaughtered lamb.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
Sin beautiful at the start—oh, how sad, how distressful at the last!
The Wedding Ring
T. De Witt Talmage
These Russian novelists have too distressful a point of view.
Journeys to Bagdad
Charles S. Brooks
At sound of a rocket the distressful cry, "A wreck, a wreck!"
Denmark
M. Pearson Thomson

1590s, from distress + -ful. Related: Distressfully; distressfulness.