# distress vs distressed

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### distress
*noun · IPA /dɪˈstɹɛs/ · frequency rank #7,675*
Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature.

### distressed
*adjective · IPA /dɪˈstɹɛst/ · frequency rank #13,501*
Anxious or uneasy.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/distress-vs-distressed