0%

distressing

dis·tress
D d

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [dih-stres]
    • /dɪˈstrɛs/
    • /dɪˈstres.ɪŋ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [dih-stres]
    • /dɪˈstrɛs/

Definitions of distressing word

  • noun distressing great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble. 1
  • noun distressing a state of extreme necessity or misfortune. 1
  • noun distressing the state of a ship or airplane requiring immediate assistance, as when on fire in transit. 1
  • noun distressing that which causes pain, suffering, trouble, danger, etc. 1
  • noun distressing liability or exposure to pain, suffering, trouble, etc.; danger: a damsel in distress. 1
  • noun distressing Law. the legal seizure and detention of the goods of another as security or satisfaction for debt, etc.; the act of distraining. the thing seized in distraining. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of distressing

First appearance:

before 1250
One of the 11% oldest English words
1250-1300; (noun) Middle English destresse < Anglo-French distresse, destresse, Old French < Vulgar Latin *districtia, equivalent to Latin district(us) (see district) + -ia -y3; (v.) Middle English destressen < Anglo-French destresser (Old French destrecier), derivative of the noun

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Distressing

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

distressing popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 95% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

distressing usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for distressing

adj distressing

  • dreadful — causing great dread, fear, or terror; terrible: a dreadful storm.
  • troublesome — causing trouble, annoyance, or difficulty; vexatious: a troublesome situation; a troublesome person.
  • frightening — to make afraid or fearful; throw into a fright; terrify; scare.
  • regrettable — causing or deserving regret; unfortunate; deplorable.
  • sad — Systems Analysis Definition

adjective distressing

  • upsetting — overturned: an upset milk pail.
  • worrying — to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.
  • difficult — not easily or readily done; requiring much labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully; hard: a difficult job.
  • stressful — full of stress or tension: the stressful days before a war.

Antonyms for distressing

adj distressing

  • pleasant — pleasing, agreeable, or enjoyable; giving pleasure: pleasant news.
  • fortunate — having good fortune; receiving good from uncertain or unexpected sources; lucky: a fortunate young actor who got the lead in the play.
  • lucky — having or marked by good luck; fortunate: That was my lucky day.
  • cheerful — Someone who is cheerful is happy and shows this in their behaviour.
  • delightful — If you describe something or someone as delightful, you mean they are very pleasant.

Top questions with distressing

  • how to use distressing ink?
  • what does distressing mean?

See also

Matching words

Was this page helpful?
Yes No
Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page
Tell us why?