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distress noun [ dɪˈstrɛs ]

• extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
• "to his distress he saw that she was trembling"
Similar: anguish, suffering, pain, agony, ache, affliction, torment, torture, discomfort, heartache, heartbreak, misery, wretchedness, sorrow, grief, woe, sadness, unhappiness, desolation, despair, trouble, worry, anxiety, perturbation, uneasiness, disquiet, angst,
Opposite: happiness, comfort,
• another term for distraint.

distress verb

• cause (someone) anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
• "I didn't mean to distress you"
Similar: cause anguish to, cause suffering to, pain, upset, make miserable, make wretched, grieve, sadden, trouble, worry, bother, arouse anxiety in, perturb, disturb, disquiet, agitate, vex, harrow, torment, torture, afflict, rack, curse, oppress, plague, dog, cut up, upsetting, worrying, affecting, painful, traumatic, agonizing, harrowing, tormenting, sad, saddening, pitiful, heartbreaking, heart-rending, tragic, haunting, disturbing, concerning, unsettling, disquieting, shocking, alarming, gut-wrenching, distressful,
Opposite: calm, soothe, please, comforting,
• give (furniture or clothing) simulated marks of age and wear.
• "the manner in which leather jackets are industrially distressed"
Similar: age, season, condition, mellow, weather, simulate age in, damage, spoil, dent, scratch, chip, batter,
Opposite: restore,
Origin: Middle English: from Old French destresce (noun), destrecier (verb), based on Latin distringere ‘stretch apart’.


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