What does distress mean?
Word: Distress
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Distress means great worry, sadness or pain; also a state of danger in which help is needed.
Synonyms: anguish, misery, suffering, worry
Antonyms: comfort, ease
How do you spell distress?
Syllables: dis - tress
Tricky part: There is one s at the start and a double s at the end. Distres and disstress are the slips to watch for.
Watch out for: distres, disstress, distresss
Memory tip: Count the s's: one near the front, two together at the end, three in all.
Idioms and Phrases
- a damsel in distress: a young woman in trouble who needs help, as in old stories Example: "In the play, the prince rescues a damsel in distress from the tower."
Distress in a sentence
Example 1: The kitten stuck up the tree was in great distress until Papa lifted it down.
Example 2: The fishermen sent a distress call when their boat began to leak.
Example 3: The loud crackers caused distress to our dog.
Fun Fact
Ships in distress once signalled SOS in Morse code: three dots, three dashes, three dots.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
distress
a) panic
b) relief
c) sorrow
d) agony
Show answer
b) relief. Relief comes when worry and pain go away.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
d_str_ss
a) y, e
b) a, e
c) i, a
d) i, e
Show answer
d) i, e. Dis begins the word, and the end rhymes with dress.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
sstdisre
a) sisters
b) distress
c) distrust
d) dessert
Show answer
b) distress. Sisters has no d, and dessert and distrust each need a letter that is not here, so the eight letters spell distress.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) anxeity
b) sorow
c) emergancy
d) distress
Show answer
d) distress. Anxiety has ie, emergency has e after the g, and sorrow has two r's.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Your dog is in distress during a storm. What might it do?
a) chew happily on a bone
b) wag its tail at the door
c) sleep in a sunny spot
d) whine and hide under the bed
Show answer
d) whine and hide under the bed
2. Which of these is a distress signal at sea?
a) a flag raised on a national day
b) a light left on through the night
c) a horn sounded when leaving port
d) a red flare fired into the sky
Show answer
d) a red flare fired into the sky
