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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for distresses
Noun
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The colors, pains, pleasures, smells, tastes and sounds, the what-it’s-like of being conscious, are not private inner bits and blobs that philosophers call qualia, floating in a theatre of the mind.
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Unfortunately, days before the ceremony, Nelson began experiencing chest pains while visiting with a friend.
Verb
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Tilling or plowing in the summer disturbs the soil's delicate ecosystem and exposes moist soil to rapid water loss.
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The pier in Michigan City’s Washington Park disturbs the natural flow of sand along the lakeshore, creating new land east of the pier but starving beaches to the west, an erosion problem repeated by other manmade structures that jut out into Lake Michigan.
Noun
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The reticence of Cartland’s heroes belies agonies of loneliness.
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Although the novel’s center does not quite hold, O’Farrell’s emotional intelligence — the heart and heat of her characters — braces this sometimes unwieldy chronicle of a nation that has been subject to cumbrous historic agonies.
Verb
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Oh, and more often than not, nobody bothers to check whether the change intervention actually worked, or whether leaders improve their performance after all!
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The government no longer even bothers to disguise itself as a democracy.
Noun
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The sad thing is that the miseries return, but there is no other Garrincha available.
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The parallels between Ines’ dilemma and that of a nation being asked to lick its wounds in silence — in the name of moving on from past miseries — are present but elusive.
Verb
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Eftekhari worries that the mood at Iran’s first match, where fans and protesters clashed, affected the players.
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Iran’s president worries about street protests Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed concern that some Iranians could openly protest again.
Verb
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Mother’s explosion distracts Blaine and frees Sam.
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In my view, platforming these young men and sensationalizing their behaviors, rather than recognizing those behaviors as signs of psychological distress, distracts from the urgent need to address these serious mental health concerns.
Verb
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The pact also fails to address Iran’s missile program and its network of proxy militant groups – concerns many Gulf states consider more immediate than Tehran’s nuclear activities.
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However, the most noteworthy information in the report concerns the Florida spaceport, where demand from SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch vehicles is expected to stress NASA.
Cite this Entry
“Distresses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distresses. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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