distress

distress

noun

Definition of DISTRESS

1

a state of great suffering of body or mind <the upcoming bar exam is causing us considerable distress> <the survivors were in extreme distress after having been stranded on the island for a week with no food>

Synonyms affliction, agony, anguish, excruciation, hurt, misery, pain, rack, strait(s), torment, torture, travail, tribulation, woe

Related Words discomfort; cross, crucible, trial; heartache, heartbreak, joylessness, sadness, sorrow, unhappiness; emergency, pinch; asperity, difficulty, hardship, rigor; ache, pang, smarting, soreness, stitch, throe, twinge; danger, jeopardy, trouble

Near Antonyms comfort, consolation, solace; alleviation, assuagement, ease, relief; peace, security; well-being

2

the state of not being protected from injury, harm, or evil <a ship in distress>

Synonyms distress, endangerment, harm's way, imperilment, jeopardy, peril, risk, trouble

Related Words exposure, liability, openness, vulnerability; precariousness, threat; susceptibility, susceptibleness; defenselessness, helplessness, weakness

Near Antonyms preservation, salvation; defense, protection; exemption, immunity, impunity, inviolability, invulnerability

Antonyms safeness, safety, secureness, security