distraught

Definitions

An old, irregular past-participle form of distract. dis- (apart) + traught (an archaic 'pulled/drawn') = 'pulled apart' in mind. While distracted means merely 'attention drawn away,' distraught keeps the older, stronger sense: torn apart emotionally.

Why It Means This

distraught is the same word as distracted, frozen in an older spelling. Both come from dis- + trahere ('pulled apart'), but they split in meaning: distracted softened into 'attention pulled away,' while distraught kept the violent original picture — a mind pulled apart by grief or panic. Use distraught only for intense emotional distress.

Common Collocations

• 1.distraught with grief悲痛欲绝
• 2.a distraught mother心急如焚的母亲
• 3.deeply distraught极度崩溃的

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The distraught parents searched all night for their missing child.

• 2.

  She was too distraught to speak after hearing the news.