Emotional Distress Vocabulary

verb to distress or afflict someone

adjective feeling or expressing distress or annoyance

• The company's decision to lay off employees aggrieved many of the staff members.
• I felt aggrieved when my friend forgot my birthday.
• She was totally aggrieved when her crush didn't text her back.
• The loss of the championship title aggrieved the team more than they let on.

noun a person who is in a state of despair; someone who is in a desperate situation

adjective feeling or showing a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with

• The desperate situation called for immediate action from the authorities.
• She was getting desperate waiting for a response to her job application.
• I'm so desperate for a snack right now, I could eat anything.
• His desperate attempt to win her back only pushed her further away.

adjective Describes something that is unbearable or unacceptable.

• The level of noise in this library is intolerable.
• I can't stand this intolerable heat, I need to turn on the air conditioning.
• This party is so intolerable, let's bounce and find something better to do.
• The amount of work piling up on my desk is becoming intolerable.

noun the state of being afflicted or suffering

• The afflictedness of the patients was evident in their pale faces and weak demeanors.
• She couldn't hide her afflictedness as she struggled to hold back tears.
• The party was a total downer, everyone was feeling the afflictedness of the bad vibes.
• The afflictedness of the situation weighed heavily on his mind, causing him great distress.

noun a feeling of fear or dread; a state of being frightened or alarmed

• The sudden affrightment of the villagers was caused by the loud explosion.
• The affrightment on their faces told me they had seen something terrifying.
• I had never seen such affrightment on someone's face before, it was like they had seen a ghost.
• The affrightment in her eyes mirrored the fear in her heart.