Calm
Calm noun - Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.
Usage example: the batter always exudes an aura of calm, even in clutch situations
Distress
Distress verb - To trouble the mind of; to make uneasy.
Usage example: don't let all the bad news distress you
How words are described
| good | good calm | good distress |
| similar | similar calm | similar distress |
| complete | complete calm | complete distress |
| extreme | extreme calm | extreme distress |
| Other adjectives: serious, inner, mental, apparent, less. | ||
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Here, someone is trying to appear calm by suppressing their anger (though it is not necessarily anger; it can be any kind of emotional distress that causes destructive feelings), but doesn't quite succeed.
Source: Suppressed Rage - Superego: Rukia — Rational, calm, contemplative, self-possessed, driven by duty, conscientious to the point of being suicidal over something that wasn't her fault, and is the damsel in distress in the rules-obsessed Soul Society
Source: Freudian Trio / Anime and Manga - In the latter, one character wonders out loud just how the protagonist can stay so calm in situations that push the rest of the team to intense distress...then remarks that it's the reason the protagonist is their leader in the first place.
Source: The Pollyanna / Video Games
Cite this Source
Distress and Calm. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/calm/distress
Calm & Distress. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/calm/distress>.
Distress or Calm. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/calm/distress.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "calm" and "distress" have occurred on timeline