distress vs grievance

distress

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. 

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. 

grievance

noun
  • Something which causes grief. 

  • A formal complaint, especially in the context of a unionized workplace. 

  • Feelings of being wronged; outrage. 

  • A wrong or hardship suffered, which is the grounds of a complaint. 

  • Violation of regulations or objectionable behavior. 

  • A complaint or annoyance. 

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