5
vicious(adjective, unpleasant, wicked, painful)
4
affecting(mean, moving, low, sad, pain)
4
aggrieved(adjective, hurt, angry, sore, dispiritedness)
4
alarming(adjective, hard, severe, offensive, upsetting)
4
appalling(adjective, bad, awful, terrible, shocking)
4
brisk
4
catastrophic(adjective, sad, unhappy, awful, terrible)
4
dejected(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, suffer)
4
disagreeable(adjective, hard, tough, severe, rough)
4
disheartening(adjective, pain)
4
down in the dumps(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, suffer)
4
exasperating(adjective, awkward, uneasy, upsetting, uncomfortable)
4
fine
4
foul(adjective, wicked)
4
fraught
4
funereal(adjective, sad, unhappy, miserable, shocking)
4
grieving(adjective, hurt, sad, angry, sorrowful)
4
heartrending(adjective, mean, moving, low, sad)
4
hideous(adjective, bad, unpleasant, awful, terrible)
4
horrible(adjective, obscure, offensive, dark, awful)
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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>