distress
• noun 1 extreme anxiety or suffering. 2 the state of a ship or aircraft when in danger or difficulty. 3 Medicine a state of physical strain, especially difficulty in breathing. 4 Law another term for DISTRAINT. • verb 1 cause distress to. 2 give (furniture, leather, etc.) simulated marks of age and wear. — DERIVATIVES distressed adjective distressful adjective distressing adjective. — ORIGIN Old French destresce, from Latin distringere ‘stretch apart’.
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