distraught
Americanadjective
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distracted; deeply agitated.
-
mentally deranged; crazed.
adjective
-
distracted or agitated
-
rare mad
Other Word Forms
- distraughtly adverb
- overdistraught adjective
- undistraught adjective
Etymology
Origin of distraught
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English variant of obsolete distract “distracted,” by association with straught, old past participle of stretch; distract
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The troubles reached a crescendo during the live finale when a distraught Tran revealed that the man she had chosen as her husband-to-be, Devin Strader, had ended their engagement a month before the broadcast.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
The deaths of her grandparents in quick succession left her so distraught — they had raised her — that she never finished her dissertation.
From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026
Poursaid, still distraught, said that the family is now leaving the area after their neighbours, fearing further strikes, were reluctant to rent to them.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
A horrible moment for Diaz, who looked distraught as he was handed the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer by Fifa president Gianni Infantino at the end of the game.
From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026
People hummed in agreement as her voice grew louder and more distraught.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
