Meanings
comparative more distressing · superlative most distressing
- Causing distress; upsetting; distressful.
The details of the ordeal can be distressing to some readers.
1 more example
One end of the east-west building is wet, the other windy, and at present there is smoke abounding, too; but these distressing yard elements can be completely excluded at each end by full-width folding doors [...].
1960 December, “New G.E. Line diesel loco maintenance depot at Stratford”, in Trains Illustrated, page 766Synonyms: nerve-racking, deplorable, saddening, grim, atrabiliary, atrabilious, deplorable, depressing
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of distress
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveCausing distress; upsetting; distressful.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecausing distress or worry or anxiety
adjectivebad; unfortunate
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Ancient Greek λυπηρός, θυμαλγής
- λυπηρός (lupērós)causing distress; upsetting
- θυμαλγής (thumalgḗs)causing distress; upsetting
Chinese Mandarin 令人痛苦的
- 令人痛苦的 (lìngrén tòngkǔ de)causing distress; upsetting
Esperanto angoriga
- angorigacausing distress; upsetting
Finnish painostava, huolestuttava
- painostavacausing distress; upsetting
- huolestuttavacausing distress; upsetting
German beängstigend, beunruhigend
- beängstigendcausing distress; upsetting
- beunruhigendcausing distress; upsetting
- furchteinflößendcausing distress; upsetting
Irish anacrach, anróiteach
- anacrachcausing distress; upsetting
- anróiteachcausing distress; upsetting
- léanmharcausing distress; upsetting
- coscrachcausing distress; upsetting
Italian desolante, penoso
- desolantecausing distress; upsetting
- penosocausing distress; upsetting
- dolorosocausing distress; upsetting
Māori tarariki
- tararikicausing distress; upsetting
Polish cierpki, hiobowy
- cierpkicausing distress; upsetting
- hiobowycausing distress; upsetting
- niepokojącycausing distress; upsetting
- przygnębiającycausing distress; upsetting
- przykrycausing distress; upsetting
Russian огорчи́тельный, печа́льный
- огорчи́тельный (ogorčítelʹnyj)causing distress; upsetting
- печа́льный (pečálʹnyj)causing distress; upsetting
- го́рестный (górestnyj)causing distress; upsetting
Spanish angustioso, distresante
- angustiosocausing distress; upsetting
- distresantecausing distress; upsetting
Cite this entry
distressing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/distressing
“distressing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/distressing. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “distressing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/distressing.
Source: distressing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.