stress

[Bailey]

stress (strs)
n.
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. Accent or a mark representing such emphasis or force.
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.
tr.v. stressed, stress·ing, stress·es
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 Informal
To subject to or undergo extreme stress, as from working too much.



[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; see strait).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

mark no-sweat Bailey

[Stargzer]

Stress:

The confusion created when one's mind overcomes the body's basic desire to choke the livin' [daylights] out of some [jerk] that desperately needs it.

Feel free to substitute other appropriate nouns for those in the brackets above.

[Bailey]

That's exactly it, when we have a flight or fight adrenallin rush that's tempered by social constraints the adrenalin has no where to go but to cause trouble to our innards.

mark stress-free Bailey