Distressful
Distressful adjective - Of a kind to cause great distress.
Usage example: the distressful living conditions in the refugee camp
Sad and distressful are semantically related in sorrowful topic. In some cases you can use "Sad" instead an adjective "Distressful".
Sad
Sad adjective - Causing unhappiness.
Usage example: the sad news about our uncle's death made my father cry
Distressful and sad are semantically related in sorrowful topic. Sometimes you can use "Distressful" instead an adjective "Sad". rare substitute
Mutual synonyms
Cite this Source
Sad and Distressful. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 01, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/distressful/sad
Distressful & Sad. N.p., 2016. Web. 01 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/distressful/sad>.
Sad or Distressful. 2016. Accessed August 01, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/distressful/sad.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "distressful" and "sad" have occurred on timeline