as in pains
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 & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in disturbs
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
don't let all the bad news distress you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distresses
Noun
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But while pains de garde can be eaten all week long, baguettes go stale quickly, leading to significant waste in French households.—
Vivian Song,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025 -
Eager to assimilate, Japanese farmers took pains to learn English.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Another possibility is that there is a relic magnetic field that exists between galaxies which remains from the early universe and disturbs low-energy gamma-rays.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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The water is perfectly clear — until someone brushes the side of the cave or disturbs the soft bottom, sending fine silt particles billowing into the beam of a headlamp.—
Jennifer Walker,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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What about him specifically bothers you especially in terms of poisoning the youth?—
Jayson Buford,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
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Really, the accuracy is the one thing that bothers me with him.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Yet Margolick chronicles Caesar’s miseries as well as his triumphs, and the story slides inevitably into sadness.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
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Falling support in Gaza Palestinian public pressure on Hamas has risen as the miseries of war have mounted.—
Mkhaimar Abusada,
The Conversation,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For example, Mark Jaffe, who leads the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, worries Mamdani’s proposals for city-run grocery stores would cut into business at bodegas.—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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McKellar worries that kids who are afraid of math tend to grow into adults who avoid numbers.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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So, excited headlines about a blossoming romance between them certainly creates a narrative that distracts from all the negative news each has grappled with recently.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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The constantly shifting allegiances are meant to form a twisty yarn in the aggregate, though the effect is largely just confusing — especially when Helen gets a subplot investigating her own past that distracts from her role as the chilly, withholding boss.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What concerns you most about today's online security risks?—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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The case also concerns tariffs imposed on China, Mexico and Canada, as well as a baseline 10% levy slapped on nearly all imports.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But what alarms him most is the silence from the business community.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
20 Oct. 2025
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While Cherry is more versed at keeping her rage simmering just below the surface, Laura struggles to hide her anguish and disgust, which alarms those closest to her.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Distresses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distresses. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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