Adjacent Words

Distressing definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISTRESSING, ppr.
1. Giving severe pain; oppressing with affliction.
2. a. Very afflicting; affecting with severe pain; as a distressing sickness.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: causing distress or worry or anxiety; "distressing (or disturbing) news"; "lived in heroic if something distressful isolation"; "a disturbing amount of crime"; "a revelation that was most perturbing"; "a new and troubling thought"; "in a particularly worrisome predicament"; "a worrying situation"; "a worrying time" [syn: distressing, distressful, disturbing, perturbing, troubling, worrisome, worrying]
2: bad; unfortunate; "my finances were in a deplorable state"; "a lamentable decision"; "her clothes were in sad shape"; "a sorry state of affairs" [syn: deplorable, distressing, lamentable, pitiful, sad, sorry]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Distressing Dis*tress"ing, a. Causing distress; painful; unpleasant.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Distressing Dis*tress"ing, adv. In a distressing manner.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If something is distressing, it upsets you or worries you. It is very distressing to see your baby attached to tubes and monitors... ADJ • distressingly ...a distressingly large bloodstain. ADV: usu ADV adj

Moby Thesaurus

acute, affecting, afflictive, agonizing, annoying, atrocious, baleful, baneful, biting, bitter, bleak, bothersome, calamitous, chafing, cheerless, comfortless, corroding, corrosive, corrupting, corruptive, counterproductive, cramping, cruel, damaging, deadly, deleterious, deplorable, depressing, depressive, detrimental, dire, disadvantageous, discomforting, dismal, dismaying, disquieting, disserviceable, distressful, disturbing, dolorific, dolorogenic, dolorous, dreary, excruciating, fretting, gnawing, grave, grievous, griping, harassing, hard, harmful, harrowing, harsh, heartbreaking, hurtful, hurting, injurious, joyless, lamentable, lethal, malefic, malevolent, malign, malignant, mischievous, mournful, moving, noisome, noxious, ominous, painful, paroxysmal, pathetic, pernicious, piercing, piteous, pitiable, plaguing, poignant, poisonous, prejudicial, pungent, racking, regrettable, rueful, sad, saddening, scatheful, severe, sharp, shooting, sore, sorrowful, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, stabbing, stinging, tormenting, torturous, touching, toxic, troublesome, uncomfortable, unfortunate, upsetting, venenate, veneniferous, venenous, venomous, vicious, virulent, woebegone, woeful, worrisome, worrying, wretched