benefit vs distress

benefit

noun
  • An advantage; help or aid from something. 

  • An event, such as a theatrical performance, given to raise funds for some cause. 

  • A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme. 

  • Intended audience (as for the benefit of). 

verb
  • To be or to provide a benefit to. 

  • To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary. 

distress

noun
  • The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction. 

  • A cause of such discomfort. 

  • Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature. 

  • Serious danger. 

  • A seizing of property without legal process to force payment of a debt. 

  • An aversive state of stress to which a person cannot fully adapt. 

verb
  • To treat a new object to give it an appearance of age. 

  • To retain someone’s property against the payment of a debt; to distrain. 

  • To cause strain or anxiety to someone. 

How often have the words benefit and distress occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )