distressed
dis·tressed/dɪˈstɹɛst/adjective, verb
distressed is spelled D-I-S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D: 10 letters and 2 syllables (dis·tressed). It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, distressed means “Anxious or uneasy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in distressed?
| Letters | 10: D-I-S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: dis·tressed |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is distressed?
Distressed appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th 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 distressed?
- /dɪˈstɹɛst/
Distressed has 2 syllables, split dis·tressed in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-distressed.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of distressed
- more distressed comparative
- most distressed superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does distressed mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Anxious or uneasy.
She is distressed because she can't find her keys.
- 2
Damaged.
- 3
Offered for sale after foreclosure.
- 4
Faded or abused in order to appear old, or antique.
- 5
Experiencing financial or operational distress, default, or bankruptcy.
distressed debt
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of distress
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Distressed in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | en détresse, accablé |
| German | beunruhigt |
| Spanish | temeroso, atribulado , dañado , rematado, subastado , gastado |
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.