distressing

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Despite what a distressing number of credentialed Americans appear to think, antisemitism doesn’t burst onto the scene ex nihilo with pogroms and Nuremberg Laws.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

"This remains a deeply distressing matter," police commissioner Martin Dole told reporters.

From Barron's • May 3, 2026

Humor is not entirely absent from “Half Man,” some of the characters’ reactions to their distressing realities earn a chuckle.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as "deeply distressing" and offered condolences to the families of those killed.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

Then the scanty supply of food was distressing: with the keen appetites of growing children, we had scarcely sufficient to keep alive a delicate invalid.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë