distress

noun

Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature.

A cause of such discomfort.

Serious danger.

(medicine, psychology) An aversive state of stress to which a person cannot fully adapt.

(law) A seizing of property without legal process to force payment of a debt.

(law) The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction.

verb

To cause strain or anxiety to someone.

(law) To retain someone’s property against the payment of a debt; to distrain.

To treat a new object to give it an appearance of age.

Roots

stringo-stress · Latin · draw tight, bind

Words related to distress

distressfuladj swivetn aeroneurosis throen straitenv hemialgia algophobian heartsicknessn cumbrancen aggravationn uneasen

Synonyms & related words for distress

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of distress — including suffering, anguish, distraint, agony, hardship, discomfort. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to distress

Explore words related to distress — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include distressful, swivet, aeroneurosis, throe, straiten, hemialgia, algophobia, heartsickness. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for distress

Common synonyms for distress include suffering, anguish, distraint, agony, hardship, discomfort, grief, disquietude — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does distress come from?

The word distress breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -stress, from Latin stringo (“draw tight, bind”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.