Advanced English Word of the Day

Definitions

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distressing
1. adj. Causing distress; upsetting.
The details of the ordeal can be distressing to some readers.
distress
1. n. (Cause of) discomfort.
2. n. Serious danger.
3. n. (legal) A seizing of property without legal process to force payment of a debt.
4. n. (legal) The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction.
5. v. To cause strain or anxiety to someone.
6. v. (legal) To retain someone’s property against the payment of a debt; to distrain.
7. v. To treat a new object to give it an appearance of age.
a pair of distressed jeans
She distressed the new media cabinet so that it fit with the other furniture in the room.

Example Sentences

I heard her barking and making the most distressing noises.  Her lawyers told the tribunal that she still experienced frequent and distressing flashbacks, her relationship with her boyfriend had broken down and she had lost social contact with her friends.

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