to distress

Examples

• All

• I would thank you not to rake up that matter and distress my family again.

  Fiction book (1993)

• But imagine the way the child distressed herself over an old woman she'd never seen before.

  Fiction book (1997)

• Why does it upset me or why does it distress me when other people are upset?

  Matthew Hussey

• Ah, why distress me so much?

  Spartacus (1960)

• Over the passing of the years, it's beginning to distress me.

  Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

• If you distress our Mi Soo, I will not let it go.

  Death Club (2023)

• So it's not what has happened that distresses this person, but this person's judgement about it.

  Gregory B. Sadler - That Philosophy Guy

• The increasing animosity between his two friends distressed him, but what could he do?

  Fiction book (1991)

• The prospect of the house being sold distressed Sophie, and she'd said as much.

  Fiction book (1992)

• Hearing about the disaster in the news began to distress her deeply.

Synonyms

U

to upset

vsto distress

362 1.0

Make someone feel sad or worried

causes a wider range from anxiety and hardship to physical suffering

T

to torment

vsto distress

• NSFW

107 7.2

To cause someone to feel great physical or mental pain

causes suffering too but covers a wider range including anxiety and hardship

T

to trouble

vsto distress

99 4.8

To make someone feel sick or have pain in the body

focuses more on bodily illness rather than emotional worry or hardship

A

to afflict

vsto distress

71 6.0

Cause pain or trouble to people, animals and places

is a broader verb meaning cause harm including anxiety and hardship

P

to pain

vsto distress

45 4.9

To make someone feel sad or upset

is about causing harm more broadly, including physical injury and hardship

A

to anguish

vsto distress

4 7.3

To cause someone to feel very strong pain or worry

covers suffering that is often less intense and includes hardship and anxiety

Antonyms

E

to ease

305 2.1

To make something less painful or difficult

C

to comfort

172 1.0

To make someone feel less upset or in pain

Compounds

D

distress call

• Specialized

42 3.9

A signal sent by a ship, plane, or person to ask for urgent help

D

distress signal

• Specialized

37 3.1

A signal sent by a ship, plane, or person asking for emergency help

F

fetal distress

• Specialized

1 4.6

A problem in pregnancy when the baby in the womb has an unusual heart rate or low oxygen

A

adult respiratory distress syndrome

• Archaic

1 7.4

A serious illness in which the lungs are damaged and fill with fluid so oxygen cannot reach the blood

R

respiratory distress syndrome

• Specialized

1 6.5

A serious lung problem in premature babies whose lungs cannot stay open so they breathe fast and look blue

A

abuse of distress

• NSFW

8.6

Using another person's sadness to get sympathy or personal gain

R

respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn

• Specialized

7.9

A serious lung problem in newborn babies, often premature, when their lungs cannot open properly and they have trouble breathing

S

solatium for emotional distress

• UK

9.9

Money paid to someone for emotional suffering

How Distressing

to traumatize

87 6.9

to distress

32 4.1

to upset

362 1.0

to unsettle

7 4.9

to bother

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Etymology