Meaning & use
distress
Extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain caused by a difficult or threatening situation.
See it in a sentence
The stranded hikers signaled their distress with flares after losing the trail at dusk.
Her voice trembled with distress as she described the accident to the police officer.
A note on using this word
Distress often implies a specific triggering event, unlike the vaguer, ongoing unease of plain "anxiety."
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
comfortrelief
Another way to use it
2. verb
To cause someone to feel worried, upset, or in pain.
The bad news distressed the whole family for several days afterward.
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