distress
/dɪˈstɹɛs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.95 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "To heighten his distress, he is approached by his wife, and bitterly upbraided for his perfidy in concealing from her his former connexions (with that unhappy girl who is here present with her child, the innocent offspring of her amours, fainting at the sight of his misfortunes, being unable to relieve him farther), and plunging her into those difficulties she never shall be able to surmount."
- "At any other time Jessamy would have laughed at the expressions that chased each other over his freckled face: crossness left over from his struggle with the baby; incredulity; distress; and finally delight."
- "a ship in distress"
- "I immediately considered that this must be some ship in distress, and that they had some comrade, or some other ship in company, and fired these gun for signals of distress, and to obtain help."
- "At length they perceived a little cottage; two persons in the decline of life dwelt in this desert, who were always ready to give every assistance in their power to their fellow-creatures in distress."
- "If he were not paid, he would straight go and take a distress of goods and cattle."
Etymology
The verb is from Middle English distressen, from Old French destrecier (“to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress”); compare French détresse. Ultimately from Medieval Latin as if *districtiō, an assumed frequentative form of Latin distringō (“to pull asunder, stretch out”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringō (“to draw tight, strain”). The noun is from Middle English distresse, from Old French destrece, ultimately also from Latin distringō.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *streyg-, distressen, destrecier, -, distringō, distresse