distress vs soothe

distress

verb
  • To cause strain or anxiety to someone. 

  • 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. 

noun
  • A cause of such discomfort. 

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

  • 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. 

soothe

verb
  • To calm or placate someone or some situation. 

  • To smooth over; render less obnoxious. 

  • To restore to ease, comfort, or tranquility; relieve; calm; quiet; refresh. 

  • To keep in good humour; wheedle; cajole; flatter. 

  • To ease or relieve pain or suffering. 

  • To temporise by assent, concession, flattery, or cajolery. 

  • To bring comfort or relief. 

  • To allay; assuage; mitigate; soften. 

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