as in agitated
feeling overwhelming fear or worry
distraught relatives waiting to learn whether there were any survivors of the plane crash
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Recent Examples of distraught
Ethington, the student who saw the pressureless brakes fall flat and a reflection of the driver’s distraught face, visited him in the weeks after.
—
Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 9 May 2026
Jerrod's fingers are cut off before he's impaled in front of a crowd, including a distraught Kitana.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 9 May 2026
His widow, Erika Kirk, was at this weekend’s dinner, visibly distraught as she was escorted out in her sequined cream dress.
—Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2026
While rescuers searched in vain, distraught relatives of passengers rushed to the ValuJet counter at Miami International.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for distraught
Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 9 May 2026
Jerrod's fingers are cut off before he's impaled in front of a crowd, including a distraught Kitana.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 9 May 2026
His widow, Erika Kirk, was at this weekend’s dinner, visibly distraught as she was escorted out in her sequined cream dress.
—Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2026
While rescuers searched in vain, distraught relatives of passengers rushed to the ValuJet counter at Miami International.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for distraught
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distraught
Adjective
-
The antipsychotic drug chlorpromazine, derived from a clothing dye called methylene blue, was first tested on agitated and delusional patients in 1952.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Trump has long agitated for changes at CNN, and few expect his Justice Department to block the transaction.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At Cal Poly Pomona, director of media relations Cynthia Peters directed students and staff who were worried about being unable to access their course materials as a result of the incident to a Reddit post uploaded by the school’s Bookstore faculty on Thursday.—
Kristy Hutchings,
Daily News,
7 May 2026
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But locals are worried that other companies could move in.—
NPR,
NPR,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
The woman who found Nado said the feline appeared frightened but was in overall good health, according to the news outlet.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
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Those children hadn’t seemed frightened to me, not visibly anyway.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
There was no explosion, no frantic hissing, or toxic plume.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
7 May 2026
-
Bahm’s somewhat-frantic conversation with the dispatcher abruptly turned into bloodcurdling screams.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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Most of their clients were too scared to speak publicly, citing fear of retaliation.—
Shoshana Walter,
Miami Herald,
11 May 2026
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Originally scared of cats, Cox fell in love with a pair of Scottish Folds his wife bought.—
Mark Bradley for the AJC,
AJC.com,
9 May 2026
Adjective
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The key cabin crew are flight attendants Penny (Lucy Barrett) and Zoe (Na Shi), both of whom demonstrate bravery, to different ends, and show caring attention to the terrified children.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
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Though Ridley Scott works in a drastically different tone than the one John Carpenter brought to Dark Star, the two films share screenwriter Dan O’Bannon’s darkly comedic view of a future that has reduced humans to alternately bored and terrified cogs in larger machines.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Last month, despite Orbán’s formidable, long-standing attempts to rig the legal and electoral systems in his favor, Magyar won, in a stunning upset.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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Gunther was upset that Rhodes was taking his screen time.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Distraught.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distraught. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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