as in agitated
feeling overwhelming fear or worry
distraught relatives waiting to learn whether there were any survivors of the plane crash
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of distraught
The video also captures a distraught women yelling into her cellphone, apparently devastated by the destruction.
—
Tara Prindiville, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2025
Tense standoff with Miami-Dade police ends in the shooting of a mentally ill man and horror for his distraught mother.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
When the mortician described the fang marks, Ms. Ngari was distraught.
—Brian Otieno, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
This may be why his teammates were so distraught after Dell went down in the Week 16 matchup with the Chiefs.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for distraught 
Tara Prindiville, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2025
Tense standoff with Miami-Dade police ends in the shooting of a mentally ill man and horror for his distraught mother.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
When the mortician described the fang marks, Ms. Ngari was distraught.
—Brian Otieno, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
This may be why his teammates were so distraught after Dell went down in the Week 16 matchup with the Chiefs.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for distraught
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distraught
Adjective
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The climax is a horrendous German burning of a village, as striking for its visual imagery as for its agitated music.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2025
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The inaugural film in The Conjuring franchise understands that seasoned viewers of haunted-house films know what signs to look for by now: cold spots, agitated pets, clocks that stop ticking.—
Gayle Sequeira,
Vulture,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Economic data users like Algernon Austin, director for race and economic justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank, are worried about what changes may be coming to the sample size for the Current Population Survey, which produces the monthly employment data.—
Hansi Lo Wang,
NPR,
24 Jan. 2025
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A number of men and women on Mitchell’s team were worried about their health and safety, the lawsuit says, so Mitchell raised the issue during the training sessions.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Growers reported a drop in workers showing up to their jobs, and advocacy groups saw a surge of frightened families show up to legal workshops on how to protect themselves against deportation.—
Rachel Uranga,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Jan. 2025
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When Julia arrived with a can of cat food, the first kitten had already been adopted, but the second—a frightened and feisty tabby—was still there.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The quick minute-and-a-half clip introduces us to a frantic Mullen, who's testing different codes on a safe to try and break into it.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
Newsweek,
16 Jan. 2025
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McConnell remembers strangers stopping in the road to pray for the boy before he was rushed to Children’s Hospital New Orleans after a police officer assured the frantic mother that her son was still alive.—
Wendy Grossman Kantor,
People.com,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Read Next Florida Shelter thought dog was scared — but something else was wrong.—
Simone Jasper,
Miami Herald,
15 Jan. 2025
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Advertisement Thirty years ago, Blake was himself a scared kid.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In the courtside footage, the mom — who was holding one child’s hand and had another kid on her hip — becomes visibly upset, stepping forward and moving very close to the principal.—
Bailey Richards,
People.com,
20 Jan. 2025
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Notre Dame must either score on defense or special teams to pull off the upset or at least set up Leonard with a short field.—
The Athletic College Football Staff,
The Athletic,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near distraught
Cite this Entry
“Distraught.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distraught. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
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