as in distress
a state of great suffering of body or mind
in great straits over the loss of her mother's cherished necklace
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Recent Examples of straits
But Johnson’s camp maintains the mayor is in no dire straits.
—
Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
There’s been a lot of discussion about the dire straits of masculinity right now, and how women feel about men’s emotional availability, their ability to be vulnerable without being complete wussies.
—Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2026
The front will stall out across the Florida straits, which will lead to spotty showers through Tuesday.
—Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Assembly budget advisor Jason Sisney said the state government was in better financial straits than anticipated, citing data from the State Controller’s Office.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 8 Jan. 2026
In Squid Game, one of the most original and bingeable drama series in recent years, 456 people in deep financial straits are invited to participate in a secret game made up of a series of children’s competitions, and the punishment for the losers is death.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Jan. 2026
On both sides of the Florida straits, the family members suffered suicides, hurricanes, and dementia, adding to the book’s emotional atmosphere of physical decay, romantic anguish, and irredeemable regrets.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Financial strains are pushing more Americans into delinquency, according to a report from TransUnion, with student loan borrowers in particularly dire straits following the end of the federal loan forgiveness program.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
Another woman takes her kids to see a beautiful house that seems too good to be true—and nearly sends more than $1,100 to a scammer who preys on renters in dismal straits.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025
Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
There’s been a lot of discussion about the dire straits of masculinity right now, and how women feel about men’s emotional availability, their ability to be vulnerable without being complete wussies.
—Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2026
The front will stall out across the Florida straits, which will lead to spotty showers through Tuesday.
—Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Assembly budget advisor Jason Sisney said the state government was in better financial straits than anticipated, citing data from the State Controller’s Office.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 8 Jan. 2026
In Squid Game, one of the most original and bingeable drama series in recent years, 456 people in deep financial straits are invited to participate in a secret game made up of a series of children’s competitions, and the punishment for the losers is death.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Jan. 2026
On both sides of the Florida straits, the family members suffered suicides, hurricanes, and dementia, adding to the book’s emotional atmosphere of physical decay, romantic anguish, and irredeemable regrets.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Financial strains are pushing more Americans into delinquency, according to a report from TransUnion, with student loan borrowers in particularly dire straits following the end of the federal loan forgiveness program.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
Another woman takes her kids to see a beautiful house that seems too good to be true—and nearly sends more than $1,100 to a scammer who preys on renters in dismal straits.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straits
Noun
-
Office conversions to residential, especially in New York City, are also helping mitigate some of the distress.—
Diana Olick,
CNBC,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Only four districts face significant fiscal distress — a decline from prior years.—
John Manly,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
White’s dialogue is unsentimental but rife with anguish; Owen Teague and a seductive, destructive Abbey Lee give the pain its due.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2026
-
His murder was met with fury and anguish.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Laocoön and His Sons, an exquisite marble sculpture of the legendary Trojan priest writhing in agony as he’s attacked by sea-serpents, was first unearthed in the early sixteenth-century, the only missing piece his right arm.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
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Steven McDonald, a fallen hero of the department who channeled the agony of three devastating gunshot wounds into an enduring message of peace and forgiveness.—
Barry Williams,
New York Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Personality traits such as mental toughness, discipline, high pain tolerance and persistence may also lead to worsened eating disorder risk and behaviors in athletes.—
Emily Hemendinger,
The Conversation,
13 Feb. 2026
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And we are bound by ties of community, having attended the same summer camps, showed up at each other’s family celebrations, and felt each other’s pain.—
Lindsay Baach Friedmann,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Straits.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straits. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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