n.
Pronunciation: di- ' stres
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English destresse, from Anglo-French destresce, from Vulgar Latin *districtia, from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere
Date: 13th century
1 a : seizure and detention of the goods of another as pledge or to obtain satisfaction of a claim by the sale of the goods seized b : something that is distrained
2 a : pain or suffering affecting the body, a bodily part, or the mind : TROUBLE <gastric distress > b : a painful situation : MISFORTUNE
3 : a state of danger or desperate need <a ship in distress >
synonyms DISTRESS , SUFFERING , MISERY , AGONY mean the state of being in great trouble. DISTRESS implies an external and usually temporary cause of great physical or mental strain and stress <the hurricane put everyone in great distress >. SUFFERING implies conscious endurance of pain or distress <the suffering of famine victims>. MISERY stresses the unhappiness attending especially sickness, poverty, or loss <the homeless live with misery every day>. AGONY suggests pain too intense to be borne <in agony over the death of their child>.