stress
stress
(strĕs) noun
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. Music. Accent or a mark representing it.
5. Physics. a. An applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body. b. The internal resistance of a body to such an applied force or system of forces.
6. a. A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression. b. A stimulus or circumstance causing such a condition.
7. A state of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain: "He presided over the economy during the period of its greatest stress and danger" (Robert J. Samuelson).
verb
, transitive
stressed, stressing, stresses
1.
To place emphasis on: stressed basic fire safety.
2.
To give prominence to (a syllable or word) in pronouncing or in accordance with a metrical pattern.
3.
To subject to physical or mental pressure, tension, or strain.
4.
To subject to mechanical pressure or force.
5.
To construct so as to withstand a specified stress.
phrasal verb.
stress out Slang
To subject to or undergo extreme stress, as from working.
[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.]