Word · CEFR B2 · Frequency #9584
distressing
令人痛苦的；令人忧虑的
causing distress or worry; upsetting
- 1.
Causing distress; upsetting; distressful.
使人痛苦的；令人不安的。
使人痛苦的；令人不安的。；使痛苦的；使烦恼的
In use
The news of the accident was very distressing.
It is distressing to see so much suffering.
She found the constant criticism distressing.
be distressing to do sth
It was distressing to see the children in such poverty.
看到孩子们如此贫困，令人苦恼。
find sth distressing
Many people find the news about the earthquake distressing.
许多人觉得有关地震的新闻令人苦恼。
it is distressing that...
It is distressing that so many animals are endangered.
如此多的动物濒临灭绝，令人苦恼。
be distressing for sb
The loss of a job can be distressing for the whole family.
失业可能让整个家庭感到苦恼。
Common mistakes
She was distressing about the exam.She was distressed about the exam.
在汉语中，“苦恼”既可以表示令人苦恼（-ing）也可以表示感到苦恼（-ed），但英语中-ing形式描述原因，-ed形式描述感受。
It is distressing of waiting so long.It is distressing to wait so long.
形容词distressing后应接带to的不定式，而非of+动名词。汉语‘令人苦恼的等待’可能直接对应‘distressing of waiting’，但英语需用动词不定式结构。
Connections
Collocations
- distressing news
- 令人悲痛的消息
- The distressing news about the accident shocked everyone.关于事故的令人悲痛的消息震惊了所有人。
- distressing experience
- 令人痛苦的经历
- She had a distressing experience during her trip abroad.她在国外旅行时有一次令人痛苦的经历。
- distressing situation
- 令人焦虑的情况
- We must find a way out of this distressing situation.我们必须找到摆脱这种令人焦虑情况的办法。
- distressing symptoms
- 令人不安的症状
- The patient reported several distressing symptoms to the doctor.病人向医生报告了几个令人不安的症状。
- distressing thought
- 令人烦恼的想法
- The distressing thought kept him awake all night.那个令人烦恼的想法让他彻夜未眠。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
distressing里含有stress，联想到‘有压力’，即‘令人苦恼的’。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：新闻报道、个人经历、健康问题 该词通常用于描述引起忧虑或痛苦的情况，在正式和非正式语境中均可使用，比较中性。
Pronunciation & Spelling
Words with the spelling pattern '-essing' often have stress on the second syllable (e.g., distressing, depressing, impressing, confessing, professing, obsessing). However, words like 'blessing' /ˈblɛsɪŋ/ and 'guessing' /ˈɡɛsɪŋ/ have first-syllable stress and do not rhyme with 'distressing'.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.