different between distress vs downfall
distress
English
Etymology
The verb is from Middle English distressen, from Old French destrecier (“to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress”); compare French détresse. Ultimately from Medieval Latin as if *districtiare, an assumed frequentative form of Latin distringere (“to pull asunder, stretch out”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringere (“to draw tight, strain”).
The noun is from Middle English distresse, from Old French destrece, ultimately also from Latin distringere.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d??st??s/
- Rhymes: -?s
Noun
distress (countable and uncountable, plural distresses)
- (Cause of) discomfort.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:distress.
- Serious danger.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:distress.
- (medicine) An aversive state of stress to which a person cannot fully adapt.
- (law) A seizing of property without legal process to force payment of a debt.
- (law) The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction.
- If he were not paid, he would straight go and take a distress of goods and cattle.
- The distress thus taken must be proportioned to the thing distrained for.
Derived terms
- distress signal
Antonyms
- (maladaptive stress): eustress
Related terms
- distrain
- district
Translations
Verb
distress (third-person singular simple present distresses, present participle distressing, simple past and past participle distressed)
- To cause strain or anxiety to someone.
- Synonyms: anguish, harrow, trouble, vex, torment, tantalize, tantalise, martyr
- (law) To retain someone’s property against the payment of a debt; to distrain.
- Synonym: distrain
- To treat a new object to give it an appearance of age.
- Synonyms: age, antique, patinate
Translations
Further reading
- distress in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- distress in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- distress at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- disserts
distress From the web:
- what distress means
- what distressing news does hester
- what distresses giles corey
- what distressed property
- what distressed mathilde
- what distressed kisa gotami
- what does distress mean
- what is distress definition
downfall
English
Etymology
From down- +? fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?da?nf??l/
Noun
downfall (countable and uncountable, plural downfalls)
- A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth.
- Synonyms: (precipitous decline in fortune) fall, (death or rapid deterioration) doom
- The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error.
- Orson Scott Card
- It is the downfall of evil, that it never sees far enough ahead.
- Orson Scott Card
- An act of falling down.
Derived terms
- Operation Downfall
Translations
Verb
downfall (third-person singular simple present downfalls, present participle downfalling, simple past downfell, past participle downfallen)
- (intransitive) To fall down; deteriorate; decline.
- 1998, Peter Vink, Ernst A. P. Koningsveld, Steven Dhondt, Human factors in organizational design and management-VI:
- Common belief has been that in the future the number of middle managers will downfall due to empowerment and team-building.
- 1998, Lithuanian physics journal:
- It should be noted that the magnitude of satellites decreases when tuning out of degeneracy, and in the wavelength range of 1.2-1.3 pm it downfalls to the value of 10-15% of the main spike magnitude.
- 1998, Peter Vink, Ernst A. P. Koningsveld, Steven Dhondt, Human factors in organizational design and management-VI:
Derived terms
- down-fallen, downfallen
Anagrams
- Wolfland, fall down, landfowl
downfall From the web:
- what downfall mean
- what downfalls did jazz promote
- what downfall high on
- what does downfall mean
- what is downfalls high rated
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- what is downfalls high going to be on
- what is downfalls high coming out on
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