distress
distress Lexical Profile
distress Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Extreme anxiety, sorrow, or physical and mental suffering.
"To her great distress, the letter notifying her of the scholarship arrived too late."
A state of acute danger, severe difficulty, or urgent need for assistance, especially regarding a ship, aircraft, or person.
"The coast guard immediately responded to the vessel in distress during the winter gale."
The legal seizure and detention of the property of another as security or satisfaction for a debt or claim, especially unpaid rent.
"The landlord sought to recover the overdue commercial rent through the remedy of distress."
• verb
To cause someone to feel severe anxiety, sorrow, or emotional pain.
"The sudden closure of the historic community library deeply distressed the local residents."
To treat furniture, fabric, leather, or other materials so as to give them a simulated aged and weathered appearance.
"The carpenter used fine sandpaper and wire brushes to distress the oak cabinet."
• Rhymes for distress
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French destresse ('restraint, affliction'), from Vulgar Latin *districtia, derived from Latin distringere ('to draw apart, hinder, detain').