1
as in disturbing
causing worry or anxiety
distressing signs that another war might be imminent
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
the distressing death of our favorite actor
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3
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
the distressing habit of constantly fiddling with her hair
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as in alarming
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distressing
Adjective
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The withdrawn teen obsessively draws dark spiders in class and shows a disturbing fixation on news reports of school shootings.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
6 June 2025 -
His disturbing legacy drew the attention of filmmaker and former HBO executive Kary Antholis, who had followed the case for decades.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
This is a tragic statistic, and too many brilliant, capable women are suffering because of it.—
Melissa Houston,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
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The law followed the tragic and preventable death of a 16-year-old football player who died from heat stroke during football practice three years earlier.—
Jenna DiPaolo,
Sun Sentinel,
1 June 2025
Adjective
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In the wake of multiple plane crashes, and amid erratic federal policies and denials and detentions at border crossings, summer travel in the U.S. is in an uneasy state.—
Kevinisha Walker,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2025
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To the south, there’s the United Arab Emirates, where again, there has been an uneasy relationship at times.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
Graham says the casting team had considered looking for an older boy, given the demands of the role and the show’s unsettling subject matter.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2025
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Human Parallels: Our Bias Toward Confident Eloquence Perhaps most unsettling is how closely this AI limitation mirrors a persistent human cognitive bias.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Adjective
-
An unfortunate series of events in the eighth inning led to the Brewers going up 3-1.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2025
-
The polished old pro bent time and space, keeping the unfortunate new work to a minimum and running through his hits, reliving, nearly chronologically, the thrill of experiencing his catalog all over again at a speed run.—
Abe Beame,
Rolling Stone,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
On Tires, Gerben plays Will, the anxious and unqualified son of the auto-repair chain's owner.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
5 June 2025
-
As a result, children can become frustrated and anxious when trying to learn math.—
Jennifer Pierce,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
Verb
-
Occupying and distracting the mind.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Apr. 2025
-
While most of the acting is wonderful (Wyle is predictably great, but so is just about all of the main cast), some patient-of-the-week players err towards distracting histrionics.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Most troubling is a lack of true concern or remedies for a huge problem for America, our national debt, and the service on that $36 trillion debt, which amounts to almost a trillion dollars a year.—
Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
6 June 2025
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Furthermore, the occurrence is arguably even more troubling since newer vehicles have become so reliant on software for driving features.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
6 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Distressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distressing. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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