distressing

 [dih-stres]  

dis·tress

   [dih-stres]
noun
1.
great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble.
2.
a state of extreme necessity or misfortune.
3.
the state of a ship or airplane requiring immediate assistance, as when on fire in transit.
4.
that which causes pain, suffering, trouble, danger, etc.
5.
liability or exposure to pain, suffering, trouble, etc.; danger: a damsel in distress.
EXPAND
6.
Law.
a.
the legal seizure and detention of the goods of another as security or satisfaction for debt, etc.; the act of distraining.
b.
the thing seized in distraining.
7.
to dent, scratch, or stain (furniture, lumber, or the like) so as to give an appearance of age.
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adjective
8.
afflicted with or suffering distress: distress livestock; distress wheat.
9.
caused by or indicative of distress or hardship: distress prices; distress borrowing.

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Distressing is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
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verb (used with object)
10.
to afflict with great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; trouble; worry; bother.
11.
to subject to pressure, stress, or strain; embarrass or exhaust by strain: to be distressed by excessive work.
12.
to compel by pain or force of circumstances: His suffering distressed him into committing suicide.
Origin:
1250–1300; (noun) Middle English destresse < Anglo-French distresse, destresse, Old French < Vulgar Latin *districtia, equivalent to Latin district(us) (see district) + -ia -y3; (v.) Middle English destressen < Anglo-French destresser (Old French destrecier), derivative of the noun

Related forms
dis·tress·ing·ly, adverb
pre·dis·tress, noun, verb (used with object)

Synonyms
1. agony, anguish, adversity, tribulation. See sorrow. 2. need, destitution.

Antonyms
1. comfort.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To distressing
Collins
World English Dictionary
distress (dɪˈstrɛs)
 
—vb
1.  to cause mental pain to; upset badly
2.  (usually passive) to subject to financial or other trouble
3.  to damage (esp furniture), as by scratching or denting it, in order to make it appear older than it is
4.  law a less common word for distrain
5.  archaic to compel
 
—n
6.  mental pain; anguish
7.  the act of distressing or the state of being distressed
8.  physical or financial trouble
9.  in distress (of a ship, aircraft, etc) in dire need of help
10.  law
 a.  the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of or in satisfaction of a debt, claim, etc; distraint
 b.  the property thus seized
 c.  (US) (as modifier): distress merchandise
 
[C13: from Old French destresse distress, via Vulgar Latin, from Latin districtus divided in mind; see distrain]
 
dis'tressful
 
—adj
 
dis'tressfully
 
—adv
 
dis'tressfulness
 
—n
 
dis'tressing
 
—adj, —n
 
dis'tressingly
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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