distraught
/dɪsˈtɹɔːt/adjective
distraught is spelled D-I-S-T-R-A-U-G-H-T: 10 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, distraught means “Deeply hurt, saddened, or worried; incapacitated by distress” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in distraught?
| Letters | 10: D-I-S-T-R-A-U-G-H-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is distraught?
Distraught appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce distraught?
- UK /dɪsˈtɹɔːt/
Distraught has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-distraught.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with distraught?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as distraught from its last stressed vowel (/ɔt/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of distraught
- more distraught comparative
- most distraught superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does distraught mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Deeply hurt, saddened, or worried; incapacitated by distress.
His distraught widow cried for days, feeling very alone.
- 2
Mad; insane.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Distraught in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense deeply hurt, saddened, or worried:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | affolé, égaré, désemparé, éperdu, perturbé |
| German | verstört, aufgelöst, außer sich, völlig verzweifelt |
| Portuguese | transtornado, abalado, perturbado |
| Spanish | perturbado, trastornado, destrozado, deshecho, afligido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does distraught come from?
From Middle English distraught, blend of distract (“distracted”) and straught (“stretched, distraught”), past participle of strecchen (“to stretch”). Compare also bestraught, extraught, forstraught, etc. More at distract, stretch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).