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 danger, endangerment, harm's way, imperilment, jeopardy, peril, risk, troubleRelated Words exposure, liability, openness, vulnerability; precariousness, threat; susceptibility, susceptibleness; defenselessness, helplessness, weaknessNear Antonyms preservation, salvation; defense, protection; exemption, immunity, impunity, inviolability, invulnerabilityAntonyms safeness, safety, secureness, security

to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy don't let all the bad news distress you Synonyms agitate, ail, alarm (also alarum), bother, concern, derail, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet, distemper, distract, disturb, exercise, flurry, frazzle, freak (out), fuss, hagride, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, weird out, worryRelated Words aggravate, anger, annoy, bug, chafe, chivy (or chivvy), exasperate, fret, gall, get, grate, harass, harry, irk, irritate, nettle, peeve, pester, pique, put off, put out, rile, vex; bedevil, haunt, plague; abash, confound, confuse, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, embarrass, faze, fluster, jar, mortify, nonplus, rattle, shake up; daunt, demoralize, discourage, dishearten, dispirit, unnerveNear Antonyms allay, alleviate, assuage; appease, conciliate, mollify, pacify, placate, propitiateAntonyms calm, compose, quiet, settle, soothe, tranquilize (also tranquillize)