distressed

adjective

dis·​tressed di-ˈstrest 

: of, relating to, or experiencing economic decline or difficulty

federal grants for distressed cities

Examples of distressed in a Sentence

She felt emotionally and physically distressed.

The government provided funds to the economically distressed city.

Donations were given to financially distressed families.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Verdict At approximately $6 per share, Opendoor trades at valuations reminiscent of distressed assets, though those valuations may not be low enough. —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025

The financially distressed 113-year-old organization recently voted to hike membership prices by 160% over the next few years to help keep the group afloat. —Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025

Its debt has soared from distressed levels, vindicating bondholders who withstood years of brinkmanship and legal drama with Ergen. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2025

No distressed calls were received, federal officials said. —Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for distressed

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed