distressing

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.

▶verb

• 1 cause distress to.

• 2 give (furniture or clothing) simulated marks of age and wear.

– derivatives
distressed adjective,
distressful adjective,
distressing adjective,
distressingly adverb.

– origin ME: from OFr. destresce (n.), destrecier (v.), based on L. distringere ‘stretch apart’.