8
irritating(verb, adjective, hard, severe, rough)
8
melancholy(adjective, sad, pain, unhappy, sorrow)
8
oppressive
8
perturbing(adjective, hard, severe, happy, pain)
8
piteous(adjective, mean, low, sad, pain)
8
pitiable(adjective, mean, poor, low, pain)
8
shocking(adjective, bad, offensive, awful, rotten)
8
sorry(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, suffer)
8
throbbing(verb, adjective, painful, sickness, ache)
8
torturous(adjective, shocking, upsetting, disturbing, tormenting)
8
trying(verb, adjective, hard, severe, tender)
8
unpleasant(adjective, tough, severe, harsh, tender)
7
afflicting(verb, pain, punishing, paining)
7
anguishing(verb, adjective, disturbing, punishing, paining)
7
biting(adjective, painful, sickness, ache, anguishes)
7
creepy(adjective, hard, severe, offensive, awful)
7
cruel(adjective, sad, harsh, unhappy, unpleasant)
7
disastrous(adjective, sad, unhappy, awful, terrible)
7
discomforting(verb, adjective, hard, severe, offensive)
7
fierce(adjective, strong, awful, violent, terrible)
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APASmart Define. (2015). distressing thesaurus. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from https://smartdefine.org/distressing/thesaurus/synonyms
ChicagoSmart Define. 2015. "distressing thesaurus" https://smartdefine.org/distressing/thesaurus/synonyms (accessed September 22, 2026).
HarvardSmart Define 2015, distressing thesaurus, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <https://smartdefine.org/distressing/thesaurus/synonyms>.
MLASmart Define. "distressing thesaurus" 3 August 2015. Web. 22 September 2026. <https://smartdefine.org/distressing/thesaurus/synonyms>