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Stress vs. Distress — What's the Difference?

Stress vs. Distress — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Stress and Distress

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Stress

Pressure or tension exerted on a material object
The distribution of stress is uniform across the bar

Distress

Extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain
To his distress he saw that she was trembling
Her fingers flew to her throat in distress

Stress

A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances
He's obviously under a lot of stress
Stress-related illnesses

Distress

Another term for distraint

Stress

Physiological disturbance or damage caused to an organism by adverse circumstances
In many areas irrigation is warranted to avoid plant stress
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Distress

Cause (someone) anxiety, sorrow, or pain
I didn't mean to distress you
Please don't distress yourself

Stress

Particular emphasis or importance
He has started to lay greater stress on the government's role in industry

Distress

Give (furniture or clothing) simulated marks of age and wear
The manner in which leather jackets are industrially distressed

Stress

Give particular emphasis or importance to (a point, statement, or idea) made in speech or writing
They stressed the need for reform
‘I want it done very, very neatly,’ she stressed
She was anxious to stress that her daughter's safety was her only concern

Distress

To cause strain, anxiety, or suffering to.

Stress

Subject to pressure or tension
This type of workout does stress the shoulder and knee joints

Distress

To mar or otherwise treat (an object or fabric, for example) to give the appearance of an antique or of heavy prior use.

Stress

Cause mental or emotional strain or tension in
I avoid many of the things that used to stress me before

Distress

(Archaic) To constrain or overcome by harassment.

Stress

Importance, significance, or emphasis placed on something.

Distress

Anxiety or mental suffering.

Stress

The relative force with which a sound or syllable is spoken.

Distress

Bodily dysfunction or discomfort caused by disease or injury
Respiratory distress.

Stress

The emphasis placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a word or phrase.

Distress

Physical deterioration, as of a highway, caused by hard use over time
Pavement distress.

Stress

The relative force of sound or emphasis given a syllable or word in accordance with a metrical pattern.

Distress

The condition of being in need of immediate assistance
A motorist in distress.

Stress

A syllable having strong relative emphasis in a metrical pattern.

Distress

Suffering caused by poverty
Programs to relieve public distress.

Stress

An accent or mark representing such emphasis or force.

Distress

(Law) The act of distraining or seizing goods to compel payment or other satisfaction for a debt or other duty owed; distraint.

Stress

The internal distribution of force per unit area within a body subject to an applied force or system of forces.

Distress

Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature.

Stress

The internal resistance of a body to such an applied force or system of forces.

Distress

A cause of such discomfort.

Stress

A condition of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain
"He presided over the economy during the period of its greatest stress and danger" (Robert J. Samuelson).

Distress

Serious danger.

Stress

A condition of physiological or psychological disturbance to the normal functioning or well-being of an organism, occurring as a response to any of various environmental or psychosocial stimuli. Signs and symptoms of stress in humans include increased blood pressure, insomnia, and irritability.

Distress

(medicine) An aversive state of stress to which a person cannot fully adapt.

Stress

A stimulus or circumstance causing such a condition
Couldn't stand the stresses of the job and quit.

Distress

(legal) A seizing of property without legal process to force payment of a debt.

Stress

To place emphasis on
Stressed basic fire safety in her talk.

Distress

(legal) The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction.

Stress

To give prominence of sound to (a syllable or word) in pronouncing or in accordance with a metrical pattern.

Distress

To cause strain or anxiety to someone.

Stress

(Informal) To subject to physiological or mental stress or strain. Often used with out
The pressure of the deadline is really stressing me out.

Distress

(legal) To retain someone’s property against the payment of a debt; to distrain.

Stress

To subject to mechanical pressure or force.

Distress

To treat a new object to give it an appearance of age.
A pair of distressed jeans
She distressed the new media cabinet so that it fit with the other furniture in the room.

Stress

To undergo physiological or mental stress, as from working too much. Often used with out.

Distress

Extreme pain or suffering; anguish of body or mind; as, to suffer distress from the gout, or from the loss of friends.
Not fearing death nor shrinking for distress.

Stress

(biology) A physical, chemical, infective agent aggressing an organism.

Distress

That which occasions suffering; painful situation; misfortune; affliction; misery.
Affliction's sons are brothers in distress.

Stress

(biology) Aggression toward an organism resulting in a response in an attempt to restore previous conditions.

Distress

A state of danger or necessity; as, a ship in distress, from leaking, loss of spars, want of provisions or water, etc.

Stress

The internal distribution of force across a small boundary per unit area of that boundary (pressure) within a body. It causes strain or deformation and is typically symbolised by σ or τ.

Distress

The act of distraining; the taking of a personal chattel out of the possession of a wrongdoer, by way of pledge for redress of an injury, or for the performance of a duty, as for nonpayment of rent or taxes, or for injury done by cattle, etc.
If he were not paid, he would straight go and take a distress of goods and cattle.
The distress thus taken must be proportioned to the thing distrained for.

Stress

Force externally applied to a body which cause internal stress within the body.

Distress

To cause pain or anguish to; to pain; to oppress with calamity; to afflict; to harass; to make miserable.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.

Stress

(uncountable) Emotional pressure suffered by a human being or other animal.
Go easy on him, he's been under a lot of stress lately.

Distress

To compel by pain or suffering.
Men who can neither be distressed nor won into a sacrifice of duty.

Stress

A suprasegmental feature of a language having additional attention raised to a sound, word or word group by means of of loudness, duration or pitch; phonological prominence.
Some people put the stress on the first syllable of “controversy”; others put it on the second.

Distress

To seize for debt; to distrain.

Stress

The suprasegmental feature of a language having additional attention raised to a sound by means of of loudness and/or duration; phonological prominence phonetically achieved by means of dynamics as distinct from pitch.

Distress

Psychological suffering;
The death of his wife caused him great distress

Stress

(uncountable) Emphasis placed on a particular point in an argument or discussion (whether spoken or written).

Distress

A state of adversity (danger or affliction or need);
A ship in distress
She was the classic maiden in distress

Stress

Obsolete form of distress

Distress

Extreme physical pain;
The patient appeared to be in distress

Stress

Distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained.

Distress

The seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim;
Originally distress was a landloard's remedy against a tenant for unpaid rents or property damage but now the landlord is given a landlord's lien

Stress

(transitive) To apply force to (a body or structure) causing strain.

Distress

Cause mental pain to;
The news of her child's illness distressed the mother

Stress

(transitive) To apply emotional pressure to (a person or animal).

Stress

To suffer stress; to worry or be agitated.

Stress

(transitive) To emphasise (a syllable of a word).
“Emphasis” is stressed on the first syllable, but “emphatic” is stressed on the second.

Stress

(transitive) To emphasise (words in speaking).

Stress

(transitive) To emphasise (a point) in an argument or discussion.
I must stress that this information is given in strict confidence.

Stress

Distress.
Sad hersal of his heavy stress.

Stress

Pressure, strain; - used chiefly of immaterial things; except in mechanics; hence, urgency; importance; weight; significance.
The faculties of the mind are improved by exercise, yet they must not be put to a stress beyond their strength.
A body may as well lay too little as too much stress upon a dream.

Stress

The force, or combination of forces, which produces a strain; force exerted in any direction or manner between contiguous bodies, or parts of bodies, and taking specific names according to its direction, or mode of action, as thrust or pressure, pull or tension, shear or tangential stress.
Stress is the mutual action between portions of matter.

Stress

Force of utterance expended upon words or syllables. Stress is in English the chief element in accent and is one of the most important in emphasis. See Guide to pronunciation, 31-35.

Stress

Distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained.

Stress

To press; to urge; to distress; to put to difficulties.

Stress

To subject to stress, pressure, or strain.

Stress

To subject to phonetic stress; to accent.

Stress

To place emphasis on; to make emphatic; emphasize.

Stress

The relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch);
He put the stress on the wrong syllable

Stress

(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense;
He suffered from fatigue and emotional tension
Stress is a vasoconstrictor

Stress

(physics) force that produces strain on a physical body;
The intensity of stress is expressed in units of force divided by units of area

Stress

Special emphasis attached to something;
The stress was more on accuracy than on speed

Stress

Difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension;
She endured the stresses and strains of life
He presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger

Stress

To stress, single out as important;
Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet

Stress

Put stress on; utter with an accent;
In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word

Stress

Test the limits of;
You are trying my patience!

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