distress

C1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

Also spelled distressid

US /dɪˈstɹɛs/ See IPA manual

Freq #6036

Meanings

1

noun
A feeling of great emotional pain, worry, or suffering.

The death of their brother caused them great distress.
2

noun
Severe physical pain or discomfort.

The patient was clearly in distress and could barely breathe.
3

noun
A state of serious danger or trouble needing urgent help.

The coastguard rushed to help a ship in distress.
4

verb
To make someone feel very upset or worried.

I was distressed by the news of my grandmother's illness.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a feeling of great... anguish suffering

3 noun · a state of serious danger... danger peril

More difficulty extremity grief hardship pain rend smart torment torture trouble

Opposites

calmness pleasure

Word family

Forms distresseddistresses

Derived forms distresseedistresserdistressfuldistresslesspostdistresspredistressundistress

Related forms distraindistrict offend vex

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

fetal distress
signs that a fetus may not be coping well, such as an abnormal heart rhythm

Adjective + noun

Etymology

The verb is from Middle English distressen, from Old French destrecier (“to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress”); compare French détresse. Ultimately from Medieval Latin as if *districtiō, an assumed frequentative form of Latin distringō (“to pull asunder, stretch out”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringō (“to draw tight, strain”). The noun is from Middle English distresse, from Old French destrece, ultimately also from Latin distringō.

*streyg- Proto-Indo-European distressen Middle English destrecier Old French distringō Latin distresse Middle English destrece Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# distress

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈstɹɛs/
**Frequency rank:** 6036

## Meanings
1. A feeling of great emotional pain, worry, or suffering.
2. Severe physical pain or discomfort.
3. A state of serious danger or trouble needing urgent help.
4. To make someone feel very upset or worried.

## Examples
- The death of their brother caused them great distress.
- The patient was clearly in distress and could barely breathe.
- The coastguard rushed to help a ship in distress.
- I was distressed by the news of my grandmother's illness.

## Synonyms
- anguish
- difficulty
- extremity
- grief
- hardship
- pain
- rend
- smart
- torment
- torture
- trouble

## Antonyms
- calmness
- pleasure

## Derived Forms
- distressee
- distresser
- distressful
- distressless
- postdistress
- predistress
- undistress

## Related Forms
- distrain
- district
- offend
- vex

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *streyg-
- Root: distressen
- Root: destrecier
- Root: distringō
- Root: distresse
- Root: destrece

## Etymology
The verb is from Middle English distressen, from Old French destrecier (“to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress”); compare French détresse. Ultimately from Medieval Latin as if *districtiō, an assumed frequentative form of Latin distringō (“to pull asunder, stretch out”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringō (“to draw tight, strain”). The noun is from Middle English distresse, from Old French destrece, ultimately also from Latin distringō.

## AI Etymology
For distress, the verb is from Middle English distressen, from Old French destrecier (“to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress”); compare French détresse. Ultimately from Medieval Latin as if *districtiō, an assumed frequentative form of Latin distringō (“to pull asunder, stretch out”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringō (“to draw tight, strain”). The noun is from Middle English distresse, from Old French destrece, ultimately also from Latin distringō. The historical chain includes *streyg- (Proto-Indo-European), distressen (Middle English), destrecier (Old French), distringō (Latin), and distresse (Middle English). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as distressee, distresser, distressful, and distressless and related forms such as distrain, district, and offend. In present use it covers a feeling of great emotional pain, worry, or suffering, severe physical pain or discomfort, and a state of serious danger or trouble needing urgent help.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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