distraught
adj.adj. extremely upset, worried, or confused. You feel this way when something very bad happens and you cannot think clearly.
adj. deeply agitated or upset as a result of emotional conflict or mental distress. Often used to describe a state of extreme grief or anxiety.
The distraught mother searched the park for her lost child.
Family members were too distraught to speak to the press immediately after the accident.
The witness was so distraught by the events she had seen that the judge granted a short recess to allow her to regain her composure.
From Middle English distraught, blend of distract (“distracted”) and straught (“stretched, distraught”), past participle of strecchen (“to stretch”). Compare also bestraught, extraught, forstraught, etc. More at distract, stretch.
Typically used predicatively after linking verbs like 'be', 'become', or 'look', but can also appear attributively before a noun.