stress
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stress
(strĕs)n.
1. Importance, significance, or emphasis placed on something. See Synonyms at emphasis.
2. Linguistics
a. The relative force with which a sound or syllable is spoken.
b. The emphasis placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a word or phrase.
3.
a. The relative force of sound or emphasis given a syllable or word in accordance with a metrical pattern.
b. A syllable having strong relative emphasis in a metrical pattern.
4. An accent or mark representing such emphasis or force.
5. Physics
a. The internal distribution of force per unit area within a body subject to an applied force or system of forces.
b. The internal resistance of a body to such an applied force or system of forces.
6.
a. A condition of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain: "He presided over the economy during the period of its greatest stress and danger" (Robert J. Samuelson).
b. A condition of physiological or psychological disturbance to the normal functioning or well-being of an organism, occurring as a response to any of various environmental or psychosocial stimuli. Signs and symptoms of stress in humans include increased blood pressure, insomnia, and irritability.
c. A stimulus or circumstance causing such a condition: couldn't stand the stresses of the job and quit.
v. stressed, stress·ing, stress·es
v.tr.
1. To place emphasis on: stressed basic fire safety in her talk.
2. To give prominence of sound to (a syllable or word) in pronouncing or in accordance with a metrical pattern.
3. Informal To subject to physiological or mental stress or strain. Often used with out: The pressure of the deadline is really stressing me out.
4. To subject to mechanical pressure or force.
v.intr. Informal
To undergo physiological or mental stress, as from working too much. Often used with out.
[Middle English stresse, hardship, partly from destresse (from Old French; see distress) and partly from Old French estrece, narrowness, oppression (from Vulgar Latin *strictia, from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere, to draw tight; see strait).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
stress
(strɛs)n
1. special emphasis or significance attached to something
2. mental, emotional, or physical strain or tension
3. (Phonetics & Phonology) emphasis placed upon a syllable by pronouncing it more loudly than those that surround it
4. (Poetry) such emphasis as part of a regular rhythmic beat in music or poetry
5. (Phonetics & Phonology) a syllable so emphasized
6. (General Physics) physics
a. force or a system of forces producing deformation or strain
b. the force acting per unit area
vb
7. (tr) to give emphasis or prominence to
8. (Phonetics & Phonology) (tr) to pronounce (a word or syllable) more loudly than those that surround it
9. (tr) to subject to stress or strain
10. informal (intr) to become stressed or anxious
[C14: stresse, shortened from distress]
ˈstressful adj
ˈstressfully adv
ˈstressfulness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
stress
(strɛs)n.
1. importance or significance attached to a thing; emphasis: to lay stress upon good manners.
2. emphasis in the form of prominent relative loudness of a speech sound, syllable, or word as a result of special effort in utterance.
3. accent or emphasis on syllables in a metrical pattern; beat.
4. Music. accent (def. 7).
5. the physical pressure, pull, or other force exerted on one thing by another; strain.
6.
a. the action on a body of any system of balanced forces whereby strain or deformation results.
b. the intensity of such action, as measured in pounds per square inch or pascals.
7. a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium.
8. physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension.
9. Archaic. intense exertion.
v.t. 10. to emphasize.
11. to pronounce (a speech sound, syllable, or word) with prominent loudness; accent.
12. to subject to stress.
[1275–1325; (n.) Middle English stresse, aph. variant of distresse distress]
stress′ful, adj.
stress′ful•ly, adv.
stress′less, adj.
stress′less•ness, n.
-stress
a feminine equivalent of -ster: seamstress; songstress.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
stress
(strĕs)1. A force that tends to distort or deform something by compressing or stretching it: The stress of the books caused the wooden shelf to warp. Compare strain. See more at Hooke's law.
2. A reaction by an organism to a disturbing or dangerous situation. In humans and other animals, the body's initial response to stress includes a rise in heart rate and blood pressure and a heightened state of alertness. A certain amount of stress may be necessary for an organism to survive, but too much stress can lead to ill health.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
stress
Past participle: stressed
Gerund: stressing
| Imperative |
|---|
| stress |
| stress |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  stress - the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch); "he put the stress on the wrong syllable"prosody, inflection - the patterns of stress and intonation in a language accentuation - the use or application of an accent; the relative prominence of syllables in a phrase or utterance pitch accent, tonic accent - emphasis that results from pitch rather than loudness word accent, word stress - the distribution of stresses within a polysyllabic word sentence stress - the distribution of stresses within a sentence |
| 2. | stress - (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor" psychological science, psychology - the science of mental life mental strain, nervous strain, strain - (psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress; "his responsibilities were a constant strain"; "the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him" yips - nervous tension that causes an athlete to fail (especially causes golfers to miss short putts); "to avoid the yips he changed his style of putting" breaking point - (psychology) stress at which a person breaks down or a situation becomes crucial | |
| 3. | stress - special emphasis attached to something; "the stress was more on accuracy than on speed" | |
| 4. | stress - difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; "she endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger"- R.J.Samuelson difficulty - a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties" | |
| 5. | stress - (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body; "the intensity of stress is expressed in units of force divided by units of area" natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics" force - (physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity; "force equals mass times acceleration" tension - (physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body; "the direction of maximum tension moves asymptotically toward the direction of the shear" breaking point - the degree of tension or stress at which something breaks | |
| Verb | 1. |  stress - to stress, single out as important; "Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet"background, play down, downplay - understate the importance or quality of; "he played down his royal ancestry" set off, bring out - direct attention to, as if by means of contrast; "This dress accentuates your nice figure!"; "I set off these words by brackets" re-emphasise, re-emphasize - emphasize anew; "The director re-emphasized the need for greater productivity" bear down - pay special attention to; "The lectures bore down on the political background" topicalize - emphasize by putting heavy stress on or by moving to the front of the sentence; "Speakers topicalize more often than they realize"; "The object of the sentence is topicalized in what linguists call `Yiddish Movement'" point up - emphasize, especially by identification; "This novel points up the racial problems in England" press home, ram home, drive home - make clear by special emphasis and try to convince somebody of something; "drive home a point or an argument"; "I'm trying to drive home these basic ideas" emphasise, underline, underscore, emphasize - give extra weight to (a communication); "Her gesture emphasized her words" |
| 2. | stress - put stress on; utter with an accent; "In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word" | |
| 3. |  stress - test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!"afflict - cause great unhappiness for; distress; "she was afflicted by the death of her parents" rack - stretch to the limits; "rack one's brains" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
stress
verb
1. emphasize, highlight, underline, repeat, draw attention to, dwell on, underscore, accentuate, point up, rub in, impress on someone, harp on, press home, bring to the fore, belabour He stressed the need for new measures.
2. place the emphasis on, emphasize, give emphasis to, place the accent on, lay emphasis upon She stresses the syllables as though teaching a child.
noun
1. emphasis, importance, significance, force, weight, urgency Japanese car makers are laying ever more stress on European sales.
2. strain, pressure, worry, tension, burden, anxiety, trauma, oppression, hassle (informal), nervous tension Katy could not think clearly when under stress.
3. accent, beat, emphasis, accentuation, ictus the misplaced stress on the first syllable
Quotations
"I don't have ulcers, I give them" [Harry Cohn]
"I don't have ulcers, I give them" [Harry Cohn]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
stress
noun1. Special weight placed upon something considered important:
To accord emphasis to:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
TranslationsSelect a language:
Spanish / Español
stress
[stres]A. N
2. (psychological etc) (= strain) → estrés m, tensión f (nerviosa)
in times of stress → en épocas de estrés or tensión
to subject sb to great stress → someter a algn a grandes tensiones
the stresses and strains of modern life → las presiones de la vida moderna
to be under stress → estar estresado, tener estrés
in times of stress → en épocas de estrés or tensión
to subject sb to great stress → someter a algn a grandes tensiones
the stresses and strains of modern life → las presiones de la vida moderna
to be under stress → estar estresado, tener estrés
4. (Ling, Poetry) → acento m
the stress is on the second syllable → el acento tónico cae en la segunda sílaba
the stress is on the second syllable → el acento tónico cae en la segunda sílaba
B. VT
2. (Ling, Poetry) → acentuar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
stress
(stres) noun1. the worry experienced by a person in particular circumstances, or the state of anxiety caused by this. the stresses of modern life; Her headaches may be caused by stress.tensión, estrés
2. force exerted by (parts of) bodies on each other. Bridge-designers have to know about stress.tensión
3. force or emphasis placed, in speaking, on particular syllables or words. In the word `widow' we put stress on the first syllable.énfasis, acento
verb to emphasize (a syllable etc, or a fact etc). Should you stress the last syllable in `violin'?; He stressed the necessity of being punctual.enfatizar
ˈstress-mark nounlay/put stress on to emphasize (a fact etc). He laid stress on this point.enfatizar
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
stress
→ énfasis , hacer hincapiéMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
stress
n. estrés, tensión emocional, compulsión.
1. factor químico, físico o emocional que provoca un cambio como respuesta inmediata o demorada en las funciones del cuerpo o en sus partes;
___ test → prueba de esfuerzo;
2. gr. énfasis, acento tónico.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
stress
n estrés m; Are you under a lot of stress?..¿Está bajo mucho estrés?; job — estrés laboral or en el trabajo; vt to — (someone) out, to put — on (someone) estresar; vi to — out estresarseEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.