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
    

• 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
    

• special emphasis attached to something
  • the stress was more on accuracy than on speed
    

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

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

Verb

• test the limits of
  • You are trying my patience!
    

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

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

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  strain , focus , tension , tenseness , emphasis , accent , try , accentuate , emphasize , emphasise , punctuate