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# distress

«distress» in Mova's school dictionary: **Great worry, sadness or pain** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (distress; uncountable mostly); verb (distress, distresses, distressed, distressing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Great worry, sadness or pain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#m1)

2) A situation of danger where help is badly needed: «a ship in distress». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#m2)

3) (verb) To make someone very worried or upset. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#m3)

4) (verb) To make furniture or clothes look old on purpose: «distressed jeans». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In safety lessons: a «distress signal» (like a flare or SOS) calls for help; animals or people «in distress» need help from an adult or emergency services. In stories it shows a character is very upset or in danger: «a damsel in distress». Phrases: «in distress», «distress call», «distress signal», «cause distress», «emotional distress».

### examples

- The ship sent out a distress signal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#x1)
- The puppy whimpered in distress. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#x2)
- Her tears showed her distress. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#x3)
- Seeing the injured bird distressed the children. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#x4)
- Lifeguards help swimmers in distress. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#x5)
- The news caused great distress to the family. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#x6)
- The jeans are distressed to look old. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#x7)
- Her evident distress caused the sly Fox much amusement. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/#x8)

### note

Double s at the end. Adjective: «distressed» (upset, or made to look old) and «distressing» (causing upset). Safety: if you see someone in distress, tell an adult or call emergency services (999 UK/Ireland, 911 US/Canada, 000 Australia, 111 NZ).

### In the corpora

- [But you are evidently in sore trouble and distress, so I will not desert you.»](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/55-willows-ch8-part4-the-chase-and-the-tunnel/17/)
- [In Morse code the distress signal SOS is three dots, three dashes, three dots.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/100-communication-letters-to-internet/15/)
- [(32-8) Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.1006/)
- [Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.'](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/JDG.331/)
- [or look unto the earth, behold distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and outspread thick darkness.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/ISA.184/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «distress» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/distress/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.