distress : | |||||||||||||
the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim; "Originally distress was a landloard''s remedy against a tenant for unpaid rents or property damage but now the landlord is given a landlord''s lien" psychological suffering; "the death of his wife caused him great distress" extreme physical pain; "the patient appeared to be in distress" a state of adversity (danger or affliction or need); "a ship in distress"; "she was the classic maiden in distress" cause mental pain to; "The news of her child''s illness distressed the mother" |
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