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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2023dis•tress /dɪˈstrɛs/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
- sharp or strong anxiety, pain, or sorrow:obvious signs of distress showing up during the crisis.
- a state of extreme necessity, trouble, or misfortune:a time of poverty and distress.
- the state of a ship or airplane requiring immediate help, such as when on fire:The aircraft radioed it was in distress.
v.
- to afflict with pain, anxiety, or sorrow:[~ + object]The tragic news distressed us all.[it + ~ + object + to + verb]It distressed me to hear about the violence in the schools.[~ + object + that clause]It distressed me that there was so much violence in the schools.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2023dis•tress
(di stres′),USA pronunciation n.
- Pathology, Psychiatrygreat pain, anxiety, or sorrow;
acute physical or mental suffering;
affliction;
trouble.
- a state of extreme necessity or misfortune.
- the state of a ship or airplane requiring immediate assistance, as when on fire in transit.
- that which causes pain, suffering, trouble, danger, etc.
- liability or exposure to pain, suffering, trouble, etc.;
danger:a damsel in distress.
- Law
- Lawthe legal seizure and detention of the goods of another as security or satisfaction for debt, etc.;
the act of distraining.
- the thing seized in distraining.
- to dent, scratch, or stain (furniture, lumber, or the like) so as to give an appearance of age.
adj.
- afflicted with or suffering distress:distress livestock; distress wheat.
- caused by or indicative of distress or hardship:distress prices; distress borrowing.
v.t.
- to afflict with great pain, anxiety, or sorrow;
trouble;
worry;
bother.
- to subject to pressure, stress, or strain;
embarrass or exhaust by strain:to be distressed by excessive work.
- to compel by pain or force of circumstances:His suffering distressed him into committing suicide.
- Anglo-French destresser (Old French destrecier), derivative of the noun, nominal
- Vulgar Latin *districtia, equivalent. to Latin district(us) (see district) + -ia -y3; (verb, verbal) Middle English destressen
- Anglo-French distresse, destresse, Old French
- (noun, nominal) Middle English destresse 1250–1300
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged agony, anguish, adversity, tribulation. See sorrow.
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged need, destitution.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged comfort.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
distress /dɪˈstrɛs/ vb (transitive)- to cause mental pain to; upset badly
- (usually passive) to subject to financial or other trouble
- to damage (esp furniture), as by scratching or denting it, in order to make it appear older than it is
- a less common word for distrain
n - mental pain; anguish
- the act of distressing or the state of being distressed
- physical or financial trouble
- in distress ⇒ (of a ship, aircraft, etc) in dire need of help
- the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of or in satisfaction of a debt, claim, etc; distraint
- the property thus seized
- US (as modifier): distress merchandise
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French destresse distress, via Vulgar Latin, from Latin districtus divided in mind; see distraindisˈtressful adj disˈtressing adj , n disˈtressingly adv
'distress' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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