Stress
WordNet
noun
(1) The relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
"He put the stress on the wrong syllable"
(2) (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body
"The intensity of stress is expressed in units of force divided by units of area"
(3) (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
"He suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"
"Stress is a vasoconstrictor"
(4) 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
(5) Special emphasis attached to something
"The stress was more on accuracy than on speed"
verb
(6) Put stress on; utter with an accent
"In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word"
(7) To stress, single out as important
"Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet"
(8) Test the limits of
"You are trying my patience!"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From , from , from .
In the sense of “mental strain” or “disruption”, used occasionally in the 1920s and 1930s by psychologists, including (1934); in “biological threat”, used by endocrinologist , by metaphor with stress in physics (force on an object) in the 1930s, and popularized by same in the 1950s.
Noun
- The internal distribution of force per unit area (pressure) within a body reacting to applied forces which causes strain or deformation and is typically symbolised by σ
- externally applied to a body which cause internal stress within the body.
- Emotional pressure suffered by a human being or other animal.
- Go easy on him, he's been under a lot of stress lately.
- The emphasis placed on a syllable of a word.
- Some people put the stress on the first syllable of “controversy”; others put it on the second.
- Emphasis placed on words in speaking.
- Emphasis placed on a particular point in an argument or discussion (whether spoken or written).
Verb
- To apply force to (a body or structure) causing strain.
- To apply emotional pressure to (a person or animal).
- To emphasise (a syllable of a word).
- “Emphasis” is stressed on the first syllable, but “emphatic” is stressed on the second.
- To emphasise (words in speaking).
- To emphasise (a point) in an argument or discussion.
- I must stress that this information is given in strict confidence.