Search the Dictionary

A burning or gnawing pain, or feeling of distress, referred to the region of the heart, accompanied with cardisc palpitation; heartburn. It is usually a symptom of indigestion.

Distressing; worrying; perplexing; corroding; as, carking cares.

To disengage one's self frpm incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free. [He that clears at once will relapse; for finding himself out of straits, he will revert to the customs; but he that cleareth by degrees induceth a habit of frugality. Bacon.

tion of replevin, by which the defendant insists that the goods were lawfully taken, as a distress, by defendant, acting as servant for another. [Eng.] Cowell. Mozley & W.

Free, or comparatively free, from pain or distress; -- used of a sick person. [U. S.]

Without comfort or comforts; in want or distress; cheerless. Comfortless through turanny or might. Spenser.

The act of commiserating; sorrow for the wants, afflictions, or distresses of another; pity; compassion. And pluck commiseration of his state From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint. Shak.

Literally, suffering with another; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration. Womanly igenuity set to work by womanly compassion. Macaulay.

The act of consoling; the state of being consoled; allevation of misery or distress of mind; refreshment of spirit; comfort; that which consoles or comforts the spirit. Against such cruelties With inward consolations recompensed. Milton. Are the consolations of God small with thee Job xv. 11.

To cheer in distress or depression; to alleviate the grief and raise the spirits of; to relieve; to comfort; to soothe. And empty heads console with empty sound. Pope. I am much consoled by the reflection that the religion of Christ has been attacked in vain by all the wits and philosophers, and its triumph has been co…

er two such kingdoms did content Without much fall of blood. Shak. The Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle. Deut. ii. 9. In ambitious strength I did Contend against thy valor. Shak.

A distressing sensation, or sound, like that occasioned by the creeping of insects. A creep of undefinable horror. Blackwood's Mag. Out of the stillness, with gathering creep, Like rising wind in leaves. Lowell.

To utter lamentations; to lament audibly; to express pain, grief, or distress, by weeping and sobbing; to shed tears; to bawl, as a child. Ye shall cry for sorrow of heart. Is. lxv. 14. I could find it in my heart to disgrace my man's apparel and to cry like a woman. Shak.

Trouble; embarrassment; distress. [Obs.] [Written also comber.] A place of much distraction and cumber. Sir H. Wotton. Sage counsel in cumber. Sir W. Scott.

A state of distress or trouble. A day of clouds and of thick darkness. Joel. ii. 2. Prince of darkness, the Devil; Satan. "In the power of the Prince of darkness." Locke.

Profound; thorough; complete; unmixed; intense; heavy; heartfelt; as, deep distress; deep melancholy; deep horror. "Deep despair." Milton. "Deep silence." Milton. "Deep sleep." Gen. ii. 21. "Deeper darkness." Hoole. "Their deep poverty." 2 Cor. viii. 2. An attitude of deep respect. Motley.

vested with absolute authority; especially, a magistrate created in times of exigence and distress, and invested with unlimited power. Invested with the authority of a dictator, nay, of a pope, over our language. Macaulay.

Want of comfort; uneasiness, mental or physical; disturbance of peace; inquietude; pain; distress; sorrow. "An age of spiritual discomfort." M. Arnold. Strive against all the discomforts of thy sufferings. Bp. Hall.

Dissatisfied; uneasy in mind; malcontent. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him. 1 Sam. xxii. 2. -- Dis`con*tent"ed*ly, adv. -- Dis`con*tent"ed*ness, n.

To torture; to excruciate. [Obs.] Discruciate a man in deep distress. Herrick.