distress
/dɪˈstres/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪˈstres/ (ame, ipa) · /di-ˈstres/ (ame, mw)
distress — 名詞
1. A state of deep emotional pain or mental suffering that a person goes through wh
痛苦；苦惱
極度擔憂、悲傷或痛苦的情緒
A state of deep emotional pain or mental suffering that a person goes through when something very bad or painful happens, such as losing a loved one or facing a serious problem.
Zuri felt deep distress after learning that her grandmother had been hospitalised.
Zuri 得知祖母住院後，感到非常痛苦。
collocation: deep distress / feel distress
The family's distress grew as the search for the missing child continued into the night.
隨著搜尋失蹤兒童的行動持續到深夜，這家人的苦惱也越來越深。
Talking to a close friend helped Renata ease some of her distress over the breakup.
和好朋友談心幫助 Renata 緩解了分手帶來的痛苦。
His face showed clear signs of distress when he heard the doctor's diagnosis.
聽到醫生的診斷時，他臉上明顯露出痛苦的神情。
Counselling sessions can help people work through feelings of distress after a traumatic event.
心理諮商可以幫助人們在創傷事件後處理痛苦的情緒。
文法句型
uncountable
用法筆記
Often describes emotional pain triggered by a specific event or situation. Frequently paired with prepositions like over, about, or at.
常見錯誤
2. A state of urgent need caused by serious difficulty or danger — for example, whe
危難；困境
迫切需要幫助的危險處境
A state of urgent need caused by serious difficulty or danger — for example, when a person has no food, a ship is damaged at sea, or a community is hit by a natural disaster.
The fishing boat sent out a distress signal when its engine failed far from shore.
漁船的引擎在離岸很遠的地方故障時，船員發出了求救訊號。
collocation: distress signal
Hugo's family fell into financial distress after his father lost his job at the factory.
Hugo 的父親在工廠失業後，他們家陷入了財務困境。
collocation: financial distress
Rescue workers arrived quickly to help the climbers who were in distress on the mountain.
救援人員迅速趕到，幫助在山上遇險的登山客。
The earthquake left thousands of families in distress with no food or clean water.
地震讓數千個家庭陷入困境，沒有食物也沒有乾淨的水。
A nearby ship responded to the distress call and arrived within thirty minutes.
附近的一艘船回應了求救訊號，並在 30 分鐘內趕到。
文法句型
uncountable
用法筆記
Common in maritime and aviation contexts (distress signal, distress call). Also used for financial hardship (financial distress, economic distress). Unlike sense 1, this sense focuses on external circumstances rather than internal emotional pain.
常見錯誤
distress — 動詞
- distresspresent simple I / you / we / they
- distresses3rd person singular
- distressing-ing form
- distressedpast simple
1. To cause someone to become deeply worried, sad, or emotionally upset, usually be
使痛苦；憂慮
讓某人感到深深的不安或悲傷
To cause someone to become deeply worried, sad, or emotionally upset, usually because of bad news, a troubling event, or a difficult situation.
The news of the accident distressed Zayd's entire family.
事故的消息讓 Zayd 全家感到非常痛苦。
transitive: distress + person
Kasia was distressed to learn that her application had been rejected.
Kasia 得知申請被拒絕後，感到非常沮喪。
passive + to-infinitive: distressed to learn/hear/find
Seeing the abandoned puppy distressed the children so much that they begged to keep it.
看到那隻被遺棄的小狗讓孩子們非常難過，以至於他們懇求要收養牠。
The manager was clearly distressed by the sudden drop in sales figures.
銷售業績突然下滑讓經理明顯感到憂慮。
It distressed Andrew to watch his childhood home being torn down piece by piece.
看著自己童年住過的房子被一磚一瓦拆掉，讓 Andrew 非常難過。
文法句型
distress + person
be distressed + by/at/about + noun/-ing
be distressed + to-infinitive
用法筆記
Commonly used in the passive voice (be distressed). The subject is often an event, news, or situation, not a person deliberately trying to upset someone. Distinguish from upset: distress implies a stronger, deeper emotional reaction.
常見錯誤
distress — 形容詞
- distresspositive
- more distresscomparative
- most distresssuperlative
1. Describing goods or products that a seller offers at a price below the original
折價出售的
因急用錢而以低於成本的價格出售（商品）
Describing goods or products that a seller offers at a price below the original cost, typically because the seller urgently needs cash to pay debts or avoid bankruptcy.
The warehouse is stacked with distress merchandise the retailer must sell before the month ends.
倉庫裡堆滿了零售商必須在月底前賣掉的廉售商品。
collocation: distress merchandise
Investors bought up large amounts of distress inventory from the failing electronics company.
投資者從這家瀕臨倒閉的電子公司大量收購了折價庫存。
collocation: distress inventory
A distributor specialises in purchasing distress stock and reselling it to discount stores.
一家經銷商專門收購折價商品，再轉賣給折扣商店。
Bidders competed for the distress assets of the bankrupt manufacturing firm.
投標者爭相競購這家破產製造商的折價資產。
文法句型
before noun
用法筆記
Used only before nouns (attributive position), primarily in business and finance contexts. Most often paired with merchandise, inventory, stock, goods, or assets.
2. Relating to a sale or financial transaction in which goods or property are sold
賠售的
因財務壓力而低價出售（交易或拍賣）
Relating to a sale or financial transaction in which goods or property are sold at a price below what they cost, usually because the seller is under strong financial pressure.
The company announced a distress sale of its office furniture to pay employee salaries.
這家公司宣布賠售辦公家具，以支付員工薪資。
collocation: distress sale
Homes in the neighbourhood were sold at distress prices after the local factory closed down.
當地工廠倒閉後，這個社區的房屋都以賠本價格出售。
collocation: distress prices
The retailer held a distress sale over the weekend, offering everything at sixty percent off.
這家零售商在週末舉行賠本大拍賣，所有商品都打四折。
Investors watched closely for distress deals during the economic downturn.
經濟衰退期間，投資者密切關注賠售交易。
- liquidation
A specific legal process of selling assets to pay creditors; broader than a single distress sale.
- fire sale
Informal term for a sale at very low prices, originally literal (damaged goods).
文法句型
before noun
用法筆記
Primarily appears in business and finance reporting. Unlike sense 1 (which describes the goods themselves), this sense describes the transaction or event — a sale, auction, or deal. Not used in everyday conversation.