STRESS

stress, emphasis, accent

(noun) the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch); “he put the stress on the wrong syllable”

stress

(noun) (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body; “the intensity of stress is expressed in units of force divided by units of area”

tension, tenseness, stress

(noun) (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; “he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension”; “stress is a vasoconstrictor”

stress, strain

(noun) 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

stress, focus

(noun) special emphasis attached to something; “the stress was more on accuracy than on speed”

stress, accent, accentuate

(verb) put stress on; utter with an accent; “In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word”

stress, emphasize, emphasise, punctuate, accent, accentuate

(verb) to stress, single out as important; “Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet”

try, strain, stress

(verb) test the limits of; “You are trying my patience!”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

stress (countable and uncountable, plural stresses)

(biology) A physical, chemical, infective agent aggressing an organism.

(biology) Aggression toward an organism resulting in a response in an attempt to restore previous conditions.

(countable, physics) The internal distribution of force across a small boundary per unit area of that boundary (pressure) within a body. It causes strain or deformation and is typically symbolised by σ or τ.

(countable, physics) Force externally applied to a body which cause internal stress within the body.

(uncountable) Emotional pressure suffered by a human being or other animal.

(uncountable, phonetics) The emphasis placed on a syllable of a word.

(uncountable) Emphasis placed on words in speaking.

(uncountable) Emphasis placed on a particular point in an argument or discussion (whether spoken or written).

Obsolete form of distress.

(Scotland, legal) distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained.

Synonyms

• (phonetics): accent, emphasis

• (on words in speaking): emphasis

• (on a point): emphasis

Verb

stress (third-person singular simple present stresses, present participle stressing, simple past and past participle stressed)

To apply force to (a body or structure) causing strain.

To apply emotional pressure to (a person or animal).

(informal) To suffer stress; to worry or be agitated.

To emphasise (a syllable of a word).

To emphasise (words in speaking).

To emphasise (a point) in an argument or discussion.

Synonyms

• (phonetics): emphasise/emphasize

• (on words in speaking): emphasise/emphasize

• (on a point): emphasise/emphasize, underline

Source: Wiktionary

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Stress, n. Etym: [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)

Definition: 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.)

Definition: 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, §§ 31-35.

5. (Scots Law)

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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