a. Full of distress; causing, indicating, or attended with, distress; as, a distressful situation. “Some distressful stroke.” Shak. “Distressful cries.” Pope. Syn. -- distressing. [ 1913 Webster ]
-- Dis*tress"ful*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]
n. the quality of causing mental anguish. Syn. -- seriousness. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]