Distress — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

psychological suffering

a state of adversity (danger or affliction or need)

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ˈiːzɚz/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪstɹˈɛs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪstɹˈɛs/

2 syllables Say it as /ˈiːzɚz/.

Examples

the death of his wife caused him great distress
a ship in distress
she was the classic maiden in distress

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

suffering hurt straiten distraint

Parts of Speech

noun	psychological suffering “the death of his wife caused him great distress”
noun	a state of adversity (danger or affliction or need) “a ship in distress”
noun	extreme physical pain “the patient appeared to be in distress”
noun	the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim “Originally distress was a landlord's remedy against a tenant for unpaid rents or property damage but now the landlord is given a landlord's lien”
verb	bring into difficulties or distress, especially financial hardship
verb	cause mental pain to “The news of her child's illness distressed the mother”

Word Forms

distress	verb	cause mental pain to
hurt	verb	be the source of pain
suffer	verb	experience (emotional) pain
distress	noun	psychological suffering

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Not

psychisches Leiden

🇫🇷French

détresse

souffrance psychologique

🇪🇸Spanish

angustia

sufrimiento psicológico

🇮🇹Italian

angoscia

sofferenza psicologica

🇳🇱Dutch

angst

psychisch lijden

🇵🇹Portuguese

sofrimento

sofrimento psicológico

🇷🇺Russian

бедствие

психологические страдания

India

🇮🇳Hindi

तनाव

मनोवैज्ञानिक पीड़ा

🇧🇩Bengali

কষ্ট

মানসিক কষ্ট

🇮🇳Tamil

துன்பம்

உளவியல் துன்பம்

🇮🇳Telugu

బాధ

మానసిక బాధ

🇮🇳Marathi

त्रास

मानसिक त्रास

🇮🇳Gujarati

તકલીફ

મનોવૈજ્ઞાનિક વેદના

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸಂಕಟ

ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಸಂಕಟ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ദുരിതം

മാനസിക കഷ്ടപ്പാടുകൾ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਤਕਲੀਫ਼

ਮਨੋਵਿਗਿਆਨਕ ਦੁੱਖ

🇵🇰Urdu

تکلیف

نفسیاتی تکلیف

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

苦恼

心理痛苦

🇯🇵Japanese

苦痛

精神的苦痛

🇰🇷Korean

고통

심리적 고통

🇻🇳Vietnamese

đau khổ

đau khổ tâm lý

🇹🇭Thai

ความทุกข์

ความทุกข์ทรมานทางจิตใจ

🇮🇩Indonesian

kesulitan

penderitaan psikologis

🇵🇭Filipino

pagkabalisa

sikolohikal na paghihirap

🇲🇾Malay

kesusahan

penderitaan psikologi

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

محنة

المعاناة النفسية

🇮🇷Persian

پریشانی

رنج روانی

🇹🇷Turkish

sıkıntı

psikolojik acı

🇮🇱Hebrew

מְצוּקָה

סבל פסיכולוגי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'distress'?

The primary meaning of 'distress' is 'psychological suffering'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'distress' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'distress' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'distress' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'distress' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'distress' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'distress' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'distress' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'distress' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'distress' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'distress' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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