distressed

adjective

dis·​tressed di-ˈstrest How to pronounce distressed (audio)
Synonyms of distressednext
: of, relating to, or experiencing economic decline or difficulty
federal grants for distressed cities

Examples of distressed in a Sentence

She felt emotionally and physically distressed. The government provided funds to the economically distressed city. Donations were given to financially distressed families.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
People in the comments were genuinely distressed. Eileen Kelly, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2025 Closkey founded the group after spending his early career working on revitalization efforts in the deeply distressed small city of Camden, New Jersey, and says his faith background motivates his work. Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 13 Dec. 2025 As a result, nearly half the bankers surveyed see forced sales or liquidations of farm assets owned by financially distressed farmers rising in the next three to six months. Jason Ma, Fortune, 13 Dec. 2025 New York Life picked up a distressed Manhattan office building from BGO for almost half of its last sale price in 2015. Diana Olick, CNBC, 9 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for distressed

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of distressed was in 1613

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Cite this Entry

“Distressed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distressed. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.

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