stress (n.)

  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

    [ Syn: emphasis , accent ]

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

    [ Syn: tension , tenseness ]

  3. special emphasis attached to something; the stress was more on accuracy than on speed

    [ Syn: focus ]

  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

    [ Syn: strain ]

  5. (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body; the intensity of stress is expressed in units of force divided by units of area'

    stress (v.)

  1. to stress, single out as important; Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet

    [ Syn: emphasize , emphasise , punctuate , accent , accentuate ]

  2. put stress on; utter with an accent; In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word

    [ Syn: accent , accentuate ]

  3. test the limits of; You are trying my patience!

    [ Syn: try , strain ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.