Stress

Quick meaning: Stress is a noun meaning (biology) A physical, chemical, infective agent aggressing an organism.

Meaning

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

More Meanings

1. (biology) Aggression toward an organism resulting in a response in an attempt to restore previous conditions.
2. (countable, physics) Force externally applied to a body which cause internal stress within the body.
3. (uncountable) Emotional pressure suffered by a human being or other animal.
4. (uncountable) Emphasis placed on a particular point in an argument or discussion (whether spoken or written).
5. (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.
6. (countable, phonetics, loosely) A suprasegmental feature of a language having additional attention raised to a sound, word or word group by means of of loudness, duration or pitch; phonological prominence.
7. (countable, phonetics, strictly) The suprasegmental feature of a language having additional attention raised to a sound by means of loudness and/or duration; phonological prominence phonetically achieved by means of dynamics as distinct from pitch.

Example Sentences

lexical stress

phrase stress, prosodic stress

Go easy on him, he's been under a lot of stress lately.

“Emphasis” is stressed on the first syllable, but “emphatic” is stressed on the second.

Word Forms

• stresses
• stressing
• stressed

Synonyms for stress

Depending on context, synonyms include accent, emphasis, emphasise, emphasize, underline, stress accent.

Antonyms for stress

Common opposites include pitch, pitch accent, destress, deemphasize.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include tenseness, straining, tension, try, set off, emphasize.

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