stress


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to stress: Stress management

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.
(-st (e) r + -ess]
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
Present
I stress
you stress
he/she/it stresses
we stress
you stress
they stress
Preterite
I stressed
you stressed
he/she/it stressed
we stressed
you stressed
they stressed
Present Continuous
I am stressing
you are stressing
he/she/it is stressing
we are stressing
you are stressing
they are stressing
Present Perfect
I have stressed
you have stressed
he/she/it has stressed
we have stressed
you have stressed
they have stressed
Past Continuous
I was stressing
you were stressing
he/she/it was stressing
we were stressing
you were stressing
they were stressing
Past Perfect
I had stressed
you had stressed
he/she/it had stressed
we had stressed
you had stressed
they had stressed
Future
I will stress
you will stress
he/she/it will stress
we will stress
you will stress
they will stress
Future Perfect
I will have stressed
you will have stressed
he/she/it will have stressed
we will have stressed
you will have stressed
they will have stressed
Future Continuous
I will be stressing
you will be stressing
he/she/it will be stressing
we will be stressing
you will be stressing
they will be stressing
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been stressing
you have been stressing
he/she/it has been stressing
we have been stressing
you have been stressing
they have been stressing
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been stressing
you will have been stressing
he/she/it will have been stressing
we will have been stressing
you will have been stressing
they will have been stressing
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been stressing
you had been stressing
he/she/it had been stressing
we had been stressing
you had been stressing
they had been stressing
Conditional
I would stress
you would stress
he/she/it would stress
we would stress
you would stress
they would stress
Past Conditional
I would have stressed
you would have stressed
he/she/it would have stressed
we would have stressed
you would have stressed
they would have stressed
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.stress - the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)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"
emphasis, accent - special importance or significance; "the red light gave the central figure increased emphasis"; "the room was decorated in shades of grey with distinctive red accents"
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
Verb1.stress - to stress, single out as importantstress - 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"
evince, express, show - give expression to; "She showed her disappointment"
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"
enounce, enunciate, pronounce, sound out, articulate, say - speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way; "She pronounces French words in a funny way"; "I cannot say `zip wire'"; "Can the child sound out this complicated word?"
3.stress - test the limits ofstress - 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
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]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

stress

noun
1. Special weight placed upon something considered important:
2. The act, condition, or effect of exerting force on someone or something:
verb
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.
Translations
تَأْكِيدتأكيد، تَوْكيدضَغْطيُؤَكِدُيُؤَكِّد
důrazzdůraznitpřízvukstreszatížení
belastningbetonebetoninglægge tryk pålægge vægt på
painottaastressi
naglasitistres
áherslaleggja áherslu á; bera fram meî áhersluspennaspenna, stress
ストレス強調する
강조하다스트레스
įtempimasstresas
pasvītrotslodzespriedzespriegumsstress
stres
naglasnaglasitipoudaritistres
stressstressa
เน้นเน้นย้ำ
nhấn mạnhsự nhấn mạnh

stress

[stres]
A. N
1. (Tech) → tensión f, carga f
2. (psychological etc) (= strain) → estrés m, tensión f (nerviosa)
in times of stressen épocas de estrés or tensión
to subject sb to great stresssometer a algn a grandes tensiones
the stresses and strains of modern lifelas presiones de la vida moderna
to be under stressestar estresado, tener estrés
3. (= emphasis) → hincapié m, énfasis m
to lay great stress on sthrecalcar algo
4. (Ling, Poetry) → acento m
the stress is on the second syllableel acento tónico cae en la segunda sílaba
B. VT
1. (= emphasize) → subrayar, insistir en
I must stress thattengo que subrayar que ...
2. (Ling, Poetry) → acentuar
C. CPD stress mark N (Ling) → tilde f
stress system N (Ling) → sistema m de acentos, acentuación f
stress out VT + ADVestresar, agobiar
to be stressed outestar estresado or agobiado
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

[ˈstrɛs]
n
(= physical pressure) → tension f
(= mental strain) → stress m
to be under stress → être stressé(e)
(= on word, syllable) → accent m tonique
(= emphasis) → accent m
to lay great stress on sth → mettre beaucoup l'accent sur qch
modif
[control, management, relief] → du stress; [level] → de stress stress fracture, stress pattern
vt
(= emphasize) [+ point, importance, need] → mettre l'accent sur
He stressed that point in a recent TV interview → Il a mis l'accent sur ce point récemment lors d'un entretien télévisé.
I would like to stress that ... → j'aimerais souligner que ..., j'aimerais mettre l'accent sur le fait que ...
[+ syllable] → mettre l'accent tonique sur
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

stress

n
(= strain)Belastung f, → Stress m; (Med) → Überlastung f, → Stress m; the stresses and strains of modern lifedie Belastungen or der Stress des heutigen Lebens; times of stressKrisenzeiten pl, → Zeiten plgroßer Belastung; to be under stressgroßen Belastungen ausgesetzt sein; (as regards work) → unter Stress stehen, im Stress sein; to put somebody under great stressjdn großen Belastungen aussetzen; to break down under stress/the stressunter Stress or bei Belastung/unter dem Stress or unter der Belastung zusammenbrechen
(= accent)Betonung f, → Ton m; (fig: = emphasis) → Akzent m, → (Haupt)gewicht nt; to put or lay (great) stress on somethinggroßen Wert auf etw (acc)legen, einer Sache (dat)großes Gewicht beimessen; fact, detailetw (besonders) betonen
(Mech) → Belastung f; (= pressure)Druck m; (= tension)Spannung f; the stress acting on the metaldie Belastung, der das Metall ausgesetzt ist
vt
(lit, fig: = emphasize) → betonen; innocencebeteuern; good manners, subjectgroßen Wert legen auf (+acc); fact, detailhervorheben, betonen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

stress

[strɛs]
1. n
a. (Tech) → sforzo; (force, pressure) → pressione f; (psychological, strain) → tensione f, stress m
to be under stress → essere stressato/a (fig) → essere sotto pressione
in times of stress → in momenti di grande tensione
the stresses and strains of modern life → il logorio or lo stress della vita moderna
b. (emphasis) → enfasi f (Ling, Poetry) → accento
to lay great stress on sth → dare grande importanza a qc
2. vt (emphasize) → sottolineare, mettere in rilievo
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

stress

(stres) noun
1. 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.
2. force exerted by (parts of) bodies on each other. Bridge-designers have to know about stress.
3. force or emphasis placed, in speaking, on particular syllables or words. In the word `widow' we put stress on the first syllable.
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.
ˈstress-mark noun
a mark used to show where the stress comes in a word etc. ˈbookworm; designer.
lay/put stress on
to emphasize (a fact etc). He laid stress on this point.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

stress

تَأْكِيد, يُؤَكِدُ důraz, zdůraznit betone, vægt betonen, Stress ένταση, τονίζω énfasis, hacer hincapié painottaa, stressi accent, insister sur naglasiti, stres accentuare, tensione ストレス, 強調する 강조하다, 스트레스 beklemtonen, nadruk belaste, belastning stres, zaakcentować ênfase, salientar подчеркивать, ударение stress, stressa เน้น, เน้นย้ำ stres, vurgulamak nhấn mạnh, sự nhấn mạnh 压力, 着重
Multilingual 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;
___ testprueba 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 estresarse
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
At times I suffer from the strangest sense of detachment from myself and the world about me; I seem to watch it all from the outside, from some- where inconceivably remote, out of time, out of space, out of the stress and tragedy of it all.
Proving is difficult to him; he layeth great stress on one's BELIEVING him."
"You lay too much stress on your devotion for me to value it much," she responded in the same jesting tone, involuntarily listening to the sound of Vronsky's steps behind them.
I never met anybody personally concerned in this affair, the interest of which for us was, of course, not the bad weather but the extraordinary complication brought into the ship's life at a moment of exceptional stress by the human element below her deck.
"Do you consider the forms of introduction, and the stress that is laid on them, as nonsense?
But I have also seen his eyes rest fondly upon the faces in the room, upon the pictures on the wall, upon all the familiar objects of that home, whose abiding and clear image must have flashed often on his memory in times of stress and anxiety at sea.
He seemed anxious to lay stress on the fact that I owed my life to him.
I dare to say that a not large percentage of youths, in the formative stage of fifteen to seventeen, could have survived the stress of heavy drinking that I survived between my fifteenth and seventeenth years; that a not large percentage of men could have punished the alcohol I have punished in my manhood years and lived to tell the tale.
In the stress of privation and the need of effort I might sometimes forget the somber secret ever baffling the conjecture that it compels.
Then we went to live in the country for a year, and that stress of toil, with the shadow of failure darkening all, fell from me like the horror of an evil dream.
So, under stress of circumstances, the attempt to solve the mystery of Ferrari's disappearance was suspended for a while.
Thus, so swiftly could he apply a stress, that, before an opponent could become aware and resist, the aim of the stress had been accomplished.