Distressing
Distressing adjective - Causing worry or anxiety.
Threatening and distressing are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Threatening" instead an adjective "Distressing".
Threatening
Threatening adjective - Involving potential loss or injury.
Usage example: threatening rocks lined that narrow stretch of the river through which we would be rafting
Distressing and threatening are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Distressing" instead an adjective "Threatening".
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- disturbing and distressing
- disturbing and threatening
- unpleasant and distressing
- unpleasant and threatening
- dismal and distressing
- dismal and threatening
- offensive and distressing
- offensive and threatening
- heavy and distressing
- heavy and threatening
- nasty and distressing
- nasty and threatening
- grave and distressing
- grave and threatening
Both words in one sentence
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Glowing Eyes of Doom: "Glowing Eyes" plays with this trope by portraying them as both threatening and comforting; the titular glowing eyes represent distressing thoughts that can also offer a distraction from other serious problems.
Source: Music / Twenty One Pilots
Cite this Source
Threatening and Distressing. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/distressing/threatening
Distressing & Threatening. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/distressing/threatening>.
Threatening or Distressing. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/distressing/threatening.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "distressing" and "threatening" have occurred on timeline