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distress
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
distress
I.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
acute
▪ A moment later, the cat is in acute distress.
▪ Suddenly your grown-up veneer gives way to a childlike sensitivity that causes you to feel-within minutes-wonderful happiness and acute distress.
▪ But some buy-outs have ended in the bankruptcy court or in acute distress.
▪ The symbolic center of the greatest nation on earth is a city in acute distress and a global embarrassment.
▪ Local distress funds continued to be raised in periods and places of acute distress, although they came increasingly under government control.
▪ They would show signs of acute distress, crying loudly and vigorously.
considerable
▪ This event commonly causes considerable distress to the woman involved.
▪ Breaking of a habit, or the disruption of a routine, can cause the horse considerable distress.
▪ The poor beast flew round and round above my head in considerable distress.
▪ The small number who had contact with the police experienced considerable distress.
▪ The onset of bladder dysfunction ... leads to considerable distress and embarrassment.
▪ The investigation of firing showed that it certainly didn't help healing, causing the horse considerable distress for no good reason.
▪ The clergy are seen as above criticism in their religious statements, and such criticism can cause considerable distress to many people.
deep
▪ These people suffer the same reactions as they did when diagnosed the first time, but with deeper levels of distress.
▪ And those in swing districts may well be in deep distress as national Republican fortunes falter.
▪ Attack Svetlana was in deep distress before the bombs exploded.
economic
▪ Inflation, around 12%, is lowish but bothersome. Economic distress need not bring unrest.
▪ However, in the short run, Gdynia was more than capable of causing the Danzigers severe economic distress and genuine hardship.
▪ Certainly Forster's powers of demagoguery were equal to the city's economic distress.
▪ But it was not economic distress that precipitated the present crisis.
emotional
▪ In such cases, the X-ray leads to unnecessary discomfort, expense and emotional distress.
▪ Simply ... understanding mental illness Everyone experiences emotional distress.
▪ If they are overeating as a result of emotional distress, there are cures.
▪ Furthermore, in 1975 an executive who suffered emotional distress after being demoted was awarded £500 compensation.
▪ Cameron did not satisfy the state law requirements to support a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
▪ Whether you are experiencing physical pain, mental anguish or emotional distress, you will feel it deeply at the time.
▪ As you can imagine, this causes us a great deal of humiliation and emotional distress.
financial
▪ The price of financial distress has been raised.
▪ Similarly, bankers become committed to a customer if they can not withdraw facilities without causing that customer financial distress.
▪ When there are limits on borrowing, a company or household in financial distress has to survive on cash flow.
▪ Any price increases will cause even more financial distress.
great
▪ This negative response created great distress to Mrs X as she has her heart set on becoming an embalmer.
▪ But while participation on business teams can offer enormous psychic satisfactions, it can also cause great distress.
▪ By nine in the evening Sarah was in great distress, as was the child within her.
▪ There was every reason, apart from the unexpectedness of the news, why this should have given Eliot the greatest distress.
▪ She faced the tragedy with courage, acting with dignity even though she was obviously in great distress.
▪ People are coming to us in great distress.
▪ One, which caused him great distress, was that of a child.
▪ All this causes great distress through ignorance of the nature of the disease and the way it is transmitted.
mental
▪ The defendants accepted that damages could be awarded for mental distress and that the wife actually suffered mental distress.
▪ Such mental distress is only possible for beings capable of comparing one chapter of their lives with another.
▪ It shows some one in obvious mental distress and gives a strong message that the nurse has a positive job to do.
▪ She is also entitled to damages for her mental distress caused by the solicitors' negligence.
▪ The defendants accepted that damages could be awarded for mental distress and that the wife actually suffered mental distress.
obvious
▪ It shows some one in obvious mental distress and gives a strong message that the nurse has a positive job to do.
▪ Throughout the whole exercise the Puffer was in a state of obvious distress, but did not inflate.
physical
▪ Result: carnage averted but father left in state of deep physical and nervous distress.
▪ Relief from physical distress is the first priority, but it is not the ultimate goal.
▪ Often there are no tour guides and travellers are getting lost, or returning with spiritual, mental and sometimes physical distress.
▪ Bereavement over the loss of a loved one and physical distress like extreme room temperatures can also produce sleeplessness.
▪ And there was always the shadow of illness, the occasional disturbing blankness, the spasms of physical distress.
psychological
▪ The analysis will also take into account the psychological distress resulting from unemployment, which is known to vary considerably by country.
▪ Flights in close quarters can also lead to back pain, swollen ankles, leg cramps and psychological distress.
▪ Adding to physiological disturbances is the psychological distress that is invariably involved.
▪ Of course a horse's physical needs have to be satisfied to avoid psychological distress too.
respiratory
▪ Associations have been shown between low packed cell volume or red cell volume, or both, and the respiratory distress syndrome.
▪ Although the incidence of the respiratory distress syndrome was similar in our groups there were significant differences in variables reflecting disease severity.
▪ An X-ray showed that's lungs hadn't fully matured and that he was suffering respiratory distress syndrome.
▪ Eight hours after admission he suddenly deteriorated, with severe respiratory distress and increasing left chest signs.
▪ She had well established adult respiratory distress syndrome, requiring artificial ventilation with 90% fractional inspired oxygen.
social
▪ Decision-making, by considering alternative responses to their social, distress, leading to new forms of social performance.
▪ The causes of social distress are not uniform.
▪ Feelings and situations which some people cope with adequately can become quite unbearable for others. Social distress arises directly from self-image.
■ NOUN
call
▪ The 499 ton salvage tug then sent out a Mayday distress call to the effect that she was on fire and sinking.
▪ Ten minutes later it sent out a distress call saying two of its four engines caught fire.
▪ Back at bomber command, the radio operator received the distress call.
▪ On a neighbouring farm, Derek Hinde has spent three weeks answering distress calls on the radio.
signal
▪ Failing all this, raising and lowering your outstretched arms at your side is an accepted international distress signal.
▪ Even if the means could be found, there were reasons why they might never attempt to beam a distress signal into space.
▪ On a given distress signal from him, or from anyone close to him, I was to post them off.
▪ They act like linguistic distress signals.
■ VERB
cause
▪ This event commonly causes considerable distress to the woman involved.
▪ Or that this honeymoon journey is causing her distress?
▪ A consultant paediatrician said the bruising would have caused a degree of distress when inflicted but it would have been temporary.
▪ Breaking of a habit, or the disruption of a routine, can cause the horse considerable distress.
▪ Such calls could cause distress and should be stopped.
▪ This time I left it up to my patient to decide which area of her life was causing her the most distress.
▪ I quite understand that this implication has caused offence or distress to some people, for which I apologise.
▪ The combination of tight money and high debt is causing more than token distress.
relieve
▪ The resident's doctor may have prescribed pain killers or drugs to relieve distress.
▪ No one comes to relieve my distress.
▪ He himself is moved to relieve his distress, but why should my imaginative simulation move me to do the same?
show
▪ Should none of these treatments work and other fish shows signs of distress, it is probably kinder to painlessly destroy.
▪ But the electorate showed signs of increasing distress, even cynicism, about the corrosive effect of money in politics.
▪ The eyes of those suffering from brain damage showed a most profound distress.
▪ Chief Judge Platt had already shown signs of distress over the government's intransigence.
▪ But in Toronto Goldbloom showed signs of distress.
▪ There seems little point in saying that teething is a non-existent condition which has never reliably been shown to cause any distress.
▪ They would show signs of acute distress, crying loudly and vigorously.
▪ At the end of the treatment, Charlotte showed no signs of distress.
suffer
▪ And as well as the injury caused by hooking, they suffer distress from being hauled out of the water and handled.
▪ An X-ray showed that's lungs hadn't fully matured and that he was suffering respiratory distress syndrome.
▪ Furthermore, in 1975 an executive who suffered emotional distress after being demoted was awarded £500 compensation.
▪ Whilst it is true that some mentally handicapped people suffer distress, this is equally true of other people in society.
▪ A woman as passive and yet responsive as she was could well suffer emotional distress which she would not overtly express.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
damsel in distress
▪ Deep inside she seemed to have been waiting like some long-ago damsel in distress, waiting for her knight to rescue her.
▪ The real Mario has no such problems with damsels in distress.
▪ You know the sort of thing: the damsel in distress chained to the railway line as the express thunders towards her.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Children suffer emotional distress when their parents divorce.
▪ Symptoms of panic attacks can include chest pain and abdominal distress.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Breaking of a habit, or the disruption of a routine, can cause the horse considerable distress.
▪ Edwards's uncle Joseph Hawley in distress searched his soul until the devil sent a despairing thought.
▪ It is imperative that these claims are dealt with discreetly to avoid any distress to the deceased's relatives.
▪ Social distress - a restricted, inadequate or disturbed individual whose social performance is in some way leading to personal difficulties.
▪ The Home Office tried to ban the interview on the grounds it might cause distress to relatives of Nilsen's victims.
▪ The long railway journey added to his distress.
▪ The sun became relentlessly hot, adding dehydration to my distress.
▪ They had the effect of diminishing the force of the decree, to the distress of non-Catholic observers.
II.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
most
▪ But the Bruins seemed to accept their plight, rather than challenge it, and that may have most distressed Harrick.
▪ It is difficult to target economic development activities so that the most distressed urban areas or disadvantaged social groups are assisted.
▪ And he has a most distressing ally in this effort, a media suddenly gone mushy and unfocused.
so
▪ How could she indulge herself when Suzie was so distressed?
▪ She was so distressed that she caught the first flight from Calcutta to New Delhi.
▪ Cratylus found the world and his role in it so distressing that he was reduced to communicating by waggling a finger.
▪ The attack happened 2 weeks ago, but the victim was so distressed she has only just reported it to the police.
▪ Albert was so distressed by the whole affair that he applied for another post further away from the scene of the tragedy.
▪ We're all so distressed about her.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ It distressed him to see Susie cry.
▪ The number of young men who called asking for Marie distressed her mother.
▪ The prospect of a painful death distresses most people.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Distress

Distress \Dis*tress"\, n. [OE. destresse, distresse, OF. destresse, destrece, F. d['e]tresse, OF. destrecier to distress, (assumed) LL. districtiare, fr. L. districtus, p. p. of distringere. See Distrain, and cf. Stress.]

  1. Extreme pain or suffering; anguish of body or mind; as, to suffer distress from the gout, or from the loss of friends.

    Not fearing death nor shrinking for distress.
    --Shak.

  2. That which occasions suffering; painful situation; misfortune; affliction; misery.

    Affliction's sons are brothers in distress.
    --Burns.

  3. A state of danger or necessity; as, a ship in distress, from leaking, loss of spars, want of provisions or water, etc.

  4. (Law)

    1. The act of distraining; the taking of a personal chattel out of the possession of a wrongdoer, by way of pledge for redress of an injury, or for the performance of a duty, as for nonpayment of rent or taxes, or for injury done by cattle, etc.

    2. The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction.
      --Bouvier.
      --Kent.
      --Burrill.

      If he were not paid, he would straight go and take a distress of goods and cattle.
      --Spenser.

      The distress thus taken must be proportioned to the thing distrained for.
      --Blackstone.

      Abuse of distress. (Law) See under Abuse.

      Syn: Affliction; suffering; pain; agony; misery; torment; anguish; grief; sorrow; calamity; misfortune; trouble; adversity. See Affliction.

Distress

Distress \Dis*tress"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Distressing.] [Cf. OF. destrecier. See Distress, n.]

  1. To cause pain or anguish to; to pain; to oppress with calamity; to afflict; to harass; to make miserable.

    We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.
    --2 Cor. iv. 8.

  2. To compel by pain or suffering.

    Men who can neither be distressed nor won into a sacrifice of duty.
    --A. Hamilton.

  3. (Law) To seize for debt; to distrain.

    Syn: To pain; grieve; harass; trouble; perplex; afflict; worry; annoy.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
distress

late 13c., "circumstance that causes anxiety or hardship," from Old French destresse, from Vulgar Latin *districtia "restraint, affliction, narrowness, distress," from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere "draw apart, hinder," also, in Medieval Latin "compel, coerce," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + stringere "draw tight, press together" (see strain (v.)). Meaning "anguish, suffering; grief" is from c.1300.

distress

late 14c., from Old French destresser, from Vulgar Latin *districtiare (see distress (n.)). Related: Distressed; distressing.

Wiktionary
distress

n. (Cause of) discomfort. vb. To cause strain or anxiety to someone.

Related phrases:
WordNet
distress

  1. n. psychological suffering; "the death of his wife caused him great distress" [syn: hurt, suffering]

  2. a state of adversity (danger or affliction or need); "a ship in distress"; "she was the classic maiden in distress"

  3. extreme physical pain; "the patient appeared to be in distress"

  4. the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim; "Originally distress was a landloard's remedy against a tenant for unpaid rents or property damage but now the landlord is given a landlord's lien" [syn: distraint]

distress

v. cause mental pain to; "The news of her child's illness distressed the mother"

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Distress (novel)

Distress is a 1995 science fiction novel by Australian writer Greg Egan.

Distress

Distress may refer to:

  • Distress (medicine), an aversive state in which a person shows maladaptive behaviors
  • Distress, or distraint, the act of seizing goods to compel payment
  • Distress (novel), a novel by Greg Egan
  • Distress (film), a 1946 French film
  • Distress signal, an internationally recognized means for obtaining help
  • Distressed inventory, goods or materials whose potential to be sold at a normal cost has passed
  • Distressing, the process of making an object appear aged
Distress (medicine)

In medicine, distress is an aversive state in which a person is unable to adapt completely to stressors and their resulting stress and shows maladaptive behaviors. It can be evident in the presence of various phenomena, such as inappropriate social interaction (e.g., aggression, passivity, or withdrawal).

Distress is the opposite of eustress, a positive stress that motivates people.

Distress (film)

Distress'' (French:Désarroi'') is a 1946 French drama film directed by Robert-Paul Dagan and starring Jules Berry, Jean Mercanton and Gabrielle Dorziat.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "distress".

For the first time, Adams was confronted with so much that generations of his people had abhorred and rebelled against, and he found himself both distressed and strangely moved.

What most distressed Adams about Franklin was his approach with Vergennes.

Especially distressing to Vergennes was the thought of Adams ever having any say in a peace settlement.

In distress, he turned to Adams, who arranged a loan with banks in Amsterdam, as Adams had on occasion for his own expenses.

As distressing as almost anything for Adams was the flood of requests for his help in securing government jobs.

Returning to her room later, Adams was trembling so much that he could not stand and had to take a chair, but then seeing that Louisa Smith was in worse distress, he got up and went to her side to tell her they must be strong.

The diseases known as menorrhagia, dysmenorrhoea, leucorrhoea, amenorrhoea, abortions, prolapsus, chronic inflammations and ulcerations of the womb, with a yet greater variety of sympathetic nervous disorders, are some of the distressing forms of these derangements.

After two doubtful battles, he consented to retire, and the Austrasian king relieved the distress of his camp with an immediate supply of corn and cattle.

She was missing from her home near Aylesbury for a month, and when she turned up again in a distressed condition she said that she had been detained by people who wanted to make a servant of her.

Beyond his pain for Lizzie, and his distress at the blackening of her reputation, he, too, missed the McGillivrays, missed the joy and comfort of suddenly being part of a large, exuberant family, after so many years of loneliness.

Despite the fact that Blackheart had managed to dislodge Abby from his back, the horse still bucked and kicked, eyes rolling wildly as he emitted high-pitched neighs of distress.

Elai watched this business of boatbuilding from the crest of First Tower with a certain forlorn distress.

He drove back to Bonita Vista distressed, unhappy, and filled with a bleak resignation.

Incidentally, I have taken the precaution of providing concentrated cyanide tablets for Henriques and myself: death from the Satan Bug, as we have observed from experiments on animals, is rather more prolonged than death from botulinus and most distressing.

But it would be churlish to deny that he had been kindness itself after the distressing theft of the Breguet watch at Temple Meads Station.