different between oppression vs distress

English

Etymology

From Middle English oppression, from Old French oppression, from Latin oppressi? (“a pressing down, violence, oppression”), from opprim?; see oppress.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??p????n/
• Rhymes: -???n
• Hyphenation: op?pres?sion

Noun

oppression (countable and uncountable, plural oppressions)

1. The exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner.

   • Oh, by what plots, by what forswearings, betrayings, oppressions, imprisonments, tortures, poisonings, and under what reasons of state and politic subtilty, have these forenamed kings […] pulled the vengeance of God upon themselves […]

2. The act of oppressing, or the state of being oppressed.

3. A feeling of being oppressed.

Related terms

• oppress

Translations

Further reading

• oppression in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• oppression in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Etymology

From Latin oppressi?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?.p??.sj??/

Noun

oppression f (plural oppressions)

1. oppression
2. (Louisiana) asthma

Further reading

• “oppression” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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)

1. (Cause of) discomfort.
   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:distress.
2. Serious danger.
   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:distress.
3. (medicine) An aversive state of stress to which a person cannot fully adapt.
4. (law) A seizing of property without legal process to force payment of a debt.
5. (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)

1. To cause strain or anxiety to someone.

   Synonyms: anguish, harrow, trouble, vex, torment, tantalize, tantalise, martyr
2. (law) To retain someone’s property against the payment of a debt; to distrain.

   Synonym: distrain
3. 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