How to Use distress in a Sentence
- The patient showed no obvious signs of distress.
- Citizens voiced their distress over delays in fixing the problem.
- He suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the accident.
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The seas were rough, with waves up to nearly 10 feet, when the crew sent out the distress call.
—
Harold Maass,
The Week,
25 Apr. 2022
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Our minds jump to the worst-case scenario in times of distress.
—
Kim Komando,
USA TODAY,
17 Mar. 2022
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But in the back of the room, a girl from Guatemala is in obvious distress.
—
BostonGlobe.com,
15 Sep. 2019
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Now came a distress call from the München — then silence.
—
Quanta Magazine,
5 Feb. 2020
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Bob is a dude in distress and your gal pal is in damsel-to-the-rescue mode.
—
Author: Wayne and Wanda,
Anchorage Daily News,
15 June 2019
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Hampered with a leg injury, the plucky Alex gets to be the damsel in distress.
—
Katie Walsh,
kansascity,
5 Oct. 2017
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Neither the plane nor its crew had sent a distress call.
—
USA Today,
11 Jan. 2020
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Even the thought of four more years brought its own strange layer of distress.
—
Elaina Plott,
New York Times,
27 Oct. 2020
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He had been called to a restaurant where John was in distress.
—
Doug Smith Senior Writer,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Nov. 2021
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The events of that day and the ensuing weeks of distress altered her plan.
—
Paul Schwartzman and Peter Jamison,
Anchorage Daily News,
4 Jan. 2022
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Rough seas could have swamped it, but there was no storm, and no distress call.
—
Tim Prudente,
baltimoresun.com,
13 Mar. 2018
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You are forced to confront the source of your distress every day.
—
Amy Dickinson,
Detroit Free Press,
30 Sep. 2020
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Each of these treatments, alone, cause a lot of distress.
—
Julia Ries,
Health.com,
7 Apr. 2022
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In all of them but one, Cruz has played mothers in distress.
—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Dec. 2021
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The film’s heroes may not be so heroic and the damsels may not be in much distress.
—
Mark Olsen,
latimes.com,
27 June 2018
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Like the screen split open and the late-night talk-show host became your neighbor at the door, in distress.
—
Michael Paterniti,
GQ,
17 Jan. 2018
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In spite of this, the rig never showed any signs of distress due to the subpar weather.
—
Jonathon Ramsey,
Car and Driver,
28 May 2023
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Old screams are not so scary — that damsel-in-distress stuff doesn’t play now.
—
Melena Ryzik,
New York Times,
29 Oct. 2020
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Alarms blare in the background along with cries of people in distress.
—
chicagotribune.com,
26 Dec. 2020
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Hearing this, Ryan pastes a look of distress on his face.
—
Jonathan Chait,
Daily Intelligencer,
28 Sep. 2017
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Their boat was in distress about 2 miles offshore of Muskegon.
—
Meredith Terhaar,
Detroit Free Press,
4 Nov. 2017
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Dispatch calls from that day seemed to share the same level of distress.
—
Amir Vera and Pierre Meilhan,
CNN,
15 June 2020
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This is the first time she's ever faced a customer in distress.
—
Fernando Alfonso Iii,
Houston Chronicle,
11 Dec. 2017
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Of course, the oil industry was in deep distress just two years ago.
—
Matt Egan,
CNN,
16 Mar. 2022
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That was more of a strategic move than a sign of distress, Mr. Benioff said.
—
David Streitfeld,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2024
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This is, indeed, a matter of burnout and moral distress.
—
Harris Solomon,
STAT,
9 Jan. 2022
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Kim is in distress — a new set of photos is haunting her.
—
Mariah Smith,
The Cut,
16 Oct. 2017
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Boyfriend jeans are a huge trend, and these have just the right amount of distressing.
—
Meredith Rollins,
Redbook,
30 Apr. 2014
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The surfaces of her pieces are cut, sawn, gouged, distressed, smeared.
—
Thomas Hine,
Philly.com,
31 May 2018
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The cause is a mystery — and the symptoms can be distressing.
—
Sara Moniuszko,
CBS News,
13 July 2023
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The state Distressed Unit Appeals Board is the state body that will oversee the district.
—
Carole Carlson,
Post-Tribune,
9 May 2017
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And, of course, hoping for the best with Irap and all horses that are injured or distressed.
—
John Cherwa,
latimes.com,
19 Oct. 2017
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A new takeover law has placed control of the district with the state Distressed Unit Appeals Board.
—
Carole Carlson,
Post-Tribune,
11 May 2017
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And keepers do not expect the pandas to be distressed during the flight.
—
William Wan,
Washington Post,
8 Nov. 2023
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In the same way that distressed jeans have long been a staple of men's style, faded black jeans are joining the fray.
—
Jake Woolf,
GQ,
5 Apr. 2018
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Boys, avoid all circumstances that will distress the wife who has been obliged to stay home and keep up with the children.
—
Ione Quinby Griggs,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
17 Aug. 2017
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Kendall said Air Force officials are distressed by the leaks.
—
Globe Staff,
BostonGlobe.com,
18 Apr. 2023
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But just nine days into the new union, Cher, distressed by Allman's drug use, walked out.
—
Deborah Wilker,
Billboard,
27 May 2017
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Within the last 12 months, to what extent did the following issue(s) cause you distress?
—
Genny Beemyn,
The Conversation,
5 Aug. 2021
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The woman told police that the frequent visits and gifts distressed her son.
—
Adam Ferrise,
cleveland.com,
28 June 2017
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His back legs kept giving out, too, which appeared to distress him.
—
Cathy M. Rosenthal,
San Antonio Express-News,
27 May 2021
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In 2017, a ship from the aid group Sea-Watch responded to distress calls from a sinking migrant boat.
—
Ian Urbina,
The New Yorker,
28 Nov. 2021
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In the women's singles draw, there were distressing scenes on Court No.
—
CNN,
6 July 2017
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Hearing noises from the house, and distressed by her trypophobia, Ally runs back to her house and calls the police.
—
Amy MacKelden,
Harper's BAZAAR,
4 Oct. 2017
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Constant itching can be distressing for both you and your pet.
—
Amber Smith,
Discover Magazine,
29 July 2023
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Some residents of the city were distressed by the president’s visit.
—
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Aug. 2019
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Greg had a habit, distressing from my perspective, of talking a lot about BMs.
—
John Jeremiah Sullivan,
Harper's Magazine,
14 Aug. 2023
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What should distress you even more is that, before this PR nightmare, the momentum had started to swing your way.
—
Keith Kloor,
Discover Magazine,
27 Feb. 2012
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In her lawsuit, Valentino describes being distressed by the recent death of her six-year-old son.
—
Vulture,
1 June 2023
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Both people with autism and those with anorexia tend to be rigid, detail-oriented and distressed by change.
—
Maia Szalavitz,
Scientific American,
1 Mar. 2016
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From the pilot to the finale, her cardigans were perfectly worn in, the jeans were distressed just so, and the coats were oversize without looking frumpy or sad.
—
Mekita Rivas,
Glamour,
28 Sep. 2018
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The final act takes things into the realm of purer fantasy, a twist that may distress some viewers but that has been seeded in the movie from minute one.
—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2024
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Yes, comforting a child who is hurt or distressed is what parenting is all about.
—
Amy Dickinson,
The Denver Post,
24 June 2019
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Light distressing adds style to these relaxed but polished jeans.
—
The Seattle Times,
7 Sep. 2017
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This fillet was mushy to the touch and even distressing to the eye: matte and sunken, the middle of it a squishy mess with indentations that looked like an angry face.
—
Bethany Jean Clement,
The Seattle Times,
6 June 2017
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My mother was always distressed by the fact that so many beautiful houses were torn down.
—
Marc Bona,
cleveland.com,
18 Apr. 2018
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However, to throw away the sole woman of color on the show—as if her five-season run was all for nothing—was distressing to many.
—
Jill Gutowitz,
Glamour,
8 May 2019
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'distress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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