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distress

[dih-stres]
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noun
  1. great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble.
  2. a state of extreme necessity or misfortune.
  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.
  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.
  7. to dent, scratch, or stain (furniture, lumber, or the like) so as to give an appearance of age.
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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.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to afflict with great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; trouble; worry; bother.
  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: His suffering distressed him into committing suicide.
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Origin of distress

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English destresse < Anglo-French distresse, destresse, Old French < Vulgar Latin *districtia, equivalent to Latin district(us) (see district) + -ia -y3; (v.) Middle English destressen < Anglo-French destresser (Old French destrecier), derivative of the noun
Related formsdis·tress·ing·ly, adverbpre·dis·tress, noun, verb (used with object)

Synonyms

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1. agony, anguish, adversity, tribulation. See sorrow. 2. need, destitution.

Antonyms

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

Related Words

dreadful, troublesome, frightening, regrettable, sad, poignant, deplorable, painful, nagging, fearful, grievous, woeful, afflictive, distressful

Examples from the Web for distressing

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • There, I thought I'd reveal the distressing truth about myself while I had you at my mercy.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Certainly it's the most distressing thing that ever has occurred for me.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • If that be the case, I wish he commanded this distressing scene instead of me.

  • Some days—and these were the most distressing of all—an opaque veil of smoke enveloped Paris.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • It is amazing to me what your relations can mean by distressing you, as they seem resolved to do.

    Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for distressing

distress

verb (tr)
  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. in distress (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. US(as modifier)distress merchandise
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Derived Formsdistressful, adjectivedistressfully, adverbdistressfulness, noundistressing, adjective, noundistressingly, adverb

Word Origin

C13: from Old French destresse distress, via Vulgar Latin, from Latin districtus divided in mind; see distrain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for distressing

distress

n.

late 13c., "circumstance that causes anxiety or hardship," from Old French destresse, from Vulgar Latin *districtia "restraint, affliction, narrowness, distress," from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere "draw apart, hinder," also, in Medieval Latin "compel, coerce," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + stringere "draw tight, press together" (see strain (v.)). Meaning "anguish, suffering; grief" is from c.1300.

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distress

v.

late 14c., from Old French destresser, from Vulgar Latin *districtiare (see distress (n.)). Related: Distressed; distressing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
distressing in Medicine

distress

(dĭ-strĕs′)
n.
  1. Mental or physical suffering or anguish.
  2. Severe strain resulting from exhaustion or trauma.
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Related formsdis•tress′ adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.