distress
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
distress/dɪˈstres/
▶noun
- 1 extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
- 2 the state of a ship or aircraft when in danger or difficulty.
- 3 Medicine a state of physical strain, especially difficulty in breathing.
- 4 Law another term for distraint.
- 1 cause distress to.
- 2 give (furniture or clothing) simulated marks of age and wear.
– derivatives
distressed adjective,
distressful adjective,
distressing adjective,
distressingly adverb.
distressed adjective,
distressful adjective,
distressing adjective,
distressingly adverb.
– origin ME: from OFr. destresce (n.), destrecier (v.), based on L. distringere ‘stretch apart’.
'distress' also found in these Oxford entries:
anguish
- bane
- break
- calamity
- carking
- discomfort
- dismay
- distress warrant
- dolorous
- dolour
- eina
- future shock
- gnaw
- God
- grieve
- harrow
- heartbreak
- heartbreaking
- heart-rending
- hit
- hurtful
- Job's comforter
- languor
- lifeboat
- Mayday
- misery
- pain
- pan-pan
- peace
- plague
- prey
- prick
- prostrate
- quick
- rack
- RDS
- relief
- relieve
- rend
- rock
- ruth
- Samaritan
- shame
- solace
- somatization
- sore
- sorrow
- sorry
- SOS
