distressed

adjective

dis·​tressed di-ˈstrest 

: 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

Abrego Garcia, dressed in plain clothes and a baseball cap, became visibly distressed when talking about his family, particularly his 5-year-old son with autism, who was with him when he was arrested by U.S. authorities in Maryland. —Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025

To report a distressed manatee or any other marine mammal, call the FWC’s hotline at 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922). —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2025

The Chaplin compressor station—recently permitted—sits in a distressed municipality, and the Coventry regulation station, though not in a distressed area, is near neighborhoods with significant low-income and BIPOC populations. —Sharon E. Lewis, Hartford Courant, 8 Apr. 2025

Snag the Reyes style from Dolce Vita in silver, red, or gold distressed leather for a vibrant pop to spring looks. —Ali Faccenda, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for distressed

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed