About The Word Stress

Bay Area Crosswords

Learn about the word Stress to help solve your crossword puzzle. Discover Stress definitions and meaning, origins, synonyms, related terms and more at the free Crossword Dictionary.

Stress

Stress Meaning & Definition
Stress Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Stress?

[n] the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch); "he put the stress on the wrong syllable"
[n] (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body; "the intensity of stress is expressed in units of force divided by units of area"
[n] (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor"
[n] 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
[n] special emphasis attached to something; "the stress was more on accuracy than on speed"
[v] put stress on; utter with an accent; "In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word"
[v] to stress, single out as important; "Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet."
[v] test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!"

Synonyms | Synonyms for Stress: accent | accent | accentuate | emphasis | emphasise | emphasize | focus | punctuate | strain | tenseness | tension | try

Related Terms | Find terms related to Stress:

See Also | accent | accentuation | afflict | articulate | background | bear down | breaking point | breaking point | bring out | difficulty | downplay | drive home | emphasis | enounce | enunciate | evince | express | force | inflection | mental strain | nervous strain | pitch accent | play down | point up | press home | pronounce | prosody | rack | ram home | re-emphasise | re-emphasize | say | sentence stress | set off | show | sound out | strain | tension | tonic accent | underline | underscore | vasoconstrictive | vasoconstrictor | word accent | word stress

Stress In Webster's Dictionary

\Stress\, v. t. 1. To subject to phonetic stress; to accent. 2. To place emphasis on; to make emphatic; emphasize.
\Stress\, n. [Abbrev. fr. distress; or cf. OF. estrecier to press, pinch, (assumed) LL. strictiare, fr. L. strictus. See {Distress}.] 1. Distress. [Obs.] Sad hersal of his heavy stress. --Spenser. 2. Pressure, strain; -- used chiefly of immaterial things; except in mechanics; hence, urgency; importance; weight; significance. The faculties of the mind are improved by exercise, yet they must not be put to a stress beyond their strength. --Locke. A body may as well lay too little as too much stress upon a dream. --L'Estrange. 3. (Mech. & Physics) The force, or combination of forces, which produces a strain; force exerted in any direction or manner between contiguous bodies, or parts of bodies, and taking specific names according to its direction, or mode of action, as thrust or pressure, pull or tension, shear or tangential stress. --Rankine. Stress is the mutual action between portions of matter. --Clerk Maxwell. 4. (Pron.) Force of utterance expended upon words or syllables. Stress is in English the chief element in accent and is one of the most important in emphasis. See {Guide to pronunciation}, [sect][sect] 31-35. 5. (Scots Law) Distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained. {Stress of voice}, unusual exertion of the voice. {Stress of weather}, constraint imposed by continued bad weather; as, to be driven back to port by stress of weather. {To lay stress upon}, to attach great importance to; to emphasize. ``Consider how great a stress is laid upon this duty.'' --Atterbury. {To put stress upon}, or {To put to a stress}, to strain.
\Stress\, v. t. 1. To press; to urge; to distress; to put to difficulties. [R.] --Spenser. 2. To subject to stress, pressure, or strain.

More Crossword Puzzle Words

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Cross Word Of The Day

  • Tijuana ‐ a Mexican City just south of San Diego on the Lower California…
  • Mercury ‐ temperature measured by a mercury thermometer; "the mercury was…
  • Reticule ‐ a network of fine lines, dots, cross hairs, or wires in the focal…
  • Western prince's pine ‐ Eurasian herb with white or pinkish flowers in a…
  • Mesohippus ‐ North American 3-toed Oligocene animal; probably not directly…
  • Neuralgy ‐ acute spasmodic pain along the course of one or…
  • Tepee ‐ a native American tent; usually of…
  • Fling ‐ the act of flinging [n] a brief indulgence of your impulses [n]…
  • Family cryptocercidae ‐ a family of…
  • Papillon ‐ small slender toy spaniel with erect ears and a black-spotted…