distraught

adjective dis·traught \ di-ˈstrȯt \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

Examples: distraught in a Sentence

Definition of distraught

1 : agitated with doubt or mental conflict or pain

distraught mourners

2 : mentally deranged : crazed

as if thou wert distraught and mad with terror
—William Shakespeare

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distraughtly

adverb

See distraught defined for English-language learners

See distraught defined for kids

Examples of distraught in a Sentence

Of particular concern are phony contractors, who knock on the doors of distraught homeowners and offer to repair damaged roofs or remove fallen trees. —Natalie Rodriguez, This Old House, March 2006
The night before the story broke, West sat down for a two-hour interview with the Spokane-Review and left so distraught that its editor, Steven Smith, asked the police chief to check on him. —Unmesh Kher, Time, 23 May 2005
Captured by news photographers under the direction of his manager Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis's turn in the barber's chair was a public ceremony: a symbolic shearing, not only of Elvis—who would return from the service a meek semblance of himself, a mama's boy without a mama (his distraught mother, Gladys, died while he was stationed at Fort Hood, soon to depart for Germany)—but of rock 'n' roll itself. —James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, November 2000
Distraught relatives are waiting for news of the missing children.
She was distraught over the death of her partner.

Recent Examples of distraught from the Web

Bailey said her son was too distraught to talk to a reporter.

— glenn e. rice, kansascity, "Grandma turns playhouse into memorial for granddaughters found dead in Clay County," 6 July 2018
With the detente settled, Lauren goes on a girls day with the ladies of Jersey Shore while Mike goes to run proposal errands with the guys (except for Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, who is too distraught over his own romantic situation to get out of bed).

— refinery29.com, "Here's Exactly How The Situation Proposed To His Girlfriend On Jersey Shore," 22 June 2018
But a cluster of flight attendants who had been on board stood nearby after the children deplaned, visibly distraught.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Protesters Gather at LaGuardia Airport as Separated Children Arrive in New York," 21 June 2018
Politically active teens were especially distraught.

— the daily astorian, OregonLive.com, "Shortly before death, RFK found piece of home on the Oregon coast," 2 June 2018
Brown's family members were distraught to learn about the shooting.

— bayan wang, azcentral, "Woman: Seeing police shoot man on Phoenix bus has traumatized her," 31 May 2018
Nearly a month after Bobo's disappearance, Bradley remains distraught.

— katie powers, Chicago Reader, "Animals / News / Neighborhoods All Hyde Park wants to know: Where’s Bobo?," 22 June 2018
Still, the Time cover, released Thursday, juxtaposed the distraught child from Moore’s original image with an icy and imposing Trump.

— jen kirby, Vox, "Time’s crying girl photo controversy, explained," 22 June 2018
And federal judges along the border are struggling to respond to distraught defendants, who beg them for information on the whereabouts of their children.

— laura gault, Teen Vogue, "What Migrant Parents Fear About Family Separation at the Border," 19 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'distraught.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.