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pressure

pressure

3.1
A strong feeling of stress from difficult demands
  • noun
  • /ˈprɛʃər/
translation icon : presión
  • Kids are putting so much pressure on themselves to do well.
  • feel pressure
  • time pressure
  • peer pressure

It's just like the pressure is too much for me.

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Examples

  • You get the sense of how much pressure was on this.

  • There's an awful lot of pressure on their shoulders.

  • This is a lot of pressure, all right.

  • Again, massive pressure, but it does a great job.

  • Yeah, I have felt pressure to marry at a certain age.

  • I have a lot of pressure on me.

  • Yet on his face, we see the extraordinary pressure to make this promise a reality.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Do all of our young music students experience these pressures at the same levels?

    Academic text (2008)
  • There's going to be a lot of pressure coming down on this one.

  • Students often feel a lot of pressure to achieve high grades during exam season.

Synonyms

stress
vspressure
704 2.8

A feeling of pressure and worry because of difficult situations

is the difficult situation or demand that brings about that tension
burden
vspressure
482 3.4

A heavy load or something that causes worry and difficulty

is the difficult situation or demand that produces anxiety or strain
weight
vspressure
181 4.2

A strong mental feeling of pressure or burden

is the difficult external situation or strong demand that causes that feeling
load
vspressure
91 4.1

A heavy burden of worry or responsibility

is the general difficult situation or strong demand that creates stress
strain
vspressure
  • Literature
48 3.3

A state of worry or nervousness caused by difficult situations

is the difficult situation or strong demand that produces this tension
pinch
vspressure
  • Informal
40 4.5

A time when people have little money and life is hard

is a general demanding situation rather than only a sudden crisis
24 2.8

People feel very tense and worried because many difficult things are happening

is the difficult situation or strong demand that causes that tension
urgency
vspressure
18 4.2

A strong, repeated request that makes people act

is a difficult situation or strong demand that can cause anxiety
under the gun
vspressure
  • Informal
6 7.4

Feeling strong pressure to finish something because of a deadline

is the difficult situation or strong demand that creates that urgency
to feel stressed
vspressure
6 2.8

Have strong worry and tension when under a lot of pressure from work or exams

is the difficult situation or strong demand that creates that anxiety
weight of responsibility
vspressure
  • Informal
1 4.9

A heavy feeling of pressure because you have important duties

is the general difficult situation or strong demand that creates this heavy feeling
mental strain
vspressure
1 5.1

A feeling of worry and tiredness after thinking for a long time

is a difficult situation or demand that may cause prolonged mental wear
stressed
vspressure
2.7

Feeling worried and unable to relax because of pressure

is the difficult situation or strong demand that causes this distress

Antonyms

304 1.0

A state of comfort and freedom from worry

52 1.0

A quiet, peaceful feeling that helps you stay steady

Idioms

no pressure
  • Informal
18 3.3

There is no need to hurry or feel forced

Compounds

230 2.5

The push of blood against the walls of your blood vessels when it moves

high blood pressure
  • Specialized
52 2.8

A condition in which blood pushes too hard against vessel walls and increases health risks

air pressure
  • Specialized
18 2.2

The weight of the air pushing down on a surface

barometric pressure
  • Specialized
7 4.0

The weight of the air around us that changes with the weather

atmospheric pressure
  • Specialized
6 4.2

The weight of the air pressing on the ground and on things

A sealed pot that cooks food quickly using hot steam

5 3.9

Calm and gentle, not forceful or pushy

4 4.1

A group that tries to change government decisions to help a cause or its members

Using strong pushy ways to make someone buy or agree

oil pressure
  • Specialized
4 3.7

How hard oil pushes through engine parts to keep them working

pressure suit
  • Specialized
4 7.3

A protective suit filled with air that keeps normal air pressure around the body in space or high altitudes

pressure point
  • Specialized
4 4.6

A spot on the body that is very sensitive when pressed

A sealed pot that cooks food quickly using hot steam or a situation where people feel very stressed

pressure gauge
  • Specialized
3 3.8

A device that measures how hard a gas or liquid pushes inside a system

A job that causes a lot of stress and has strict deadlines

A place in a process where small problems cause big trouble

gas pressure
  • Specialized
1 3.5

The push of a gas against the walls of its container

intraocular pressure
  • Specialized
1 6.0

The pressure made by the fluids inside the eye

arterial pressure
  • Specialized
1 3.8

The force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries

pressure level
  • Specialized
1 3.5

How hard something pushes on each small part of a surface

pressure sore
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A damaged area of skin that appears when constant weight on it keeps blood from reaching it

diastolic pressure
  • Specialized
1 4.6

Pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats, usually the lower blood pressure number

radiation pressure
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A very small push that light gives to a surface when it hits it

osmotic pressure
  • Specialized
1 6.1

Pressure that stops water from moving into a solution through a membrane

pressure pad
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A device that senses weight when someone steps on it and makes something happen

sea-level pressure
  • Specialized
1 3.7

Air pressure that shows what it would be at sea level

systolic pressure
  • Specialized
1 4.1

The highest pressure in the arteries when the heart pumps blood

vapor pressure
  • Specialized
1 6.0

The push of gas above a liquid in a closed container

venous pressure
  • Specialized
1 5.1

The force of blood pushing on the walls of the veins

compartment pressure
  • Specialized
5.6

Air pressure inside a sealed space like an airplane cabin that keeps people safe

A very small push on a surface caused by particles in a beam of light

8.3

A force from sound waves that pushes on a surface in the way the waves move

A situation with little stress or urgency

A pushy method to make people buy things

The pressure of sound at one moment at a point

Freedom from stress or need to do well in a task

pressure cabin
  • Specialized
4.0

A part of a plane or spacecraft kept with extra air so people can breathe normally

pressure sensation
  • Specialized
4.0

A feeling on the skin when something pushes on it

pressure dome
  • Specialized
8.0

A dome-shaped building with higher air pressure inside than outside

pressure feed
  • Specialized
5.4

A system that uses a pump to push oil to engine bearings

A strong feeling that you must do very well in school, work, or sport

pressure unit
  • Specialized
3.6

A unit that shows how much force presses on an area, like pascal or psi

A system where a pump pushes oil under pressure to engine bearings to stop metal parts rubbing

sound pressure level
  • Specialized
5.1

A measure of how loud a sound is in decibels

sound pressure
  • Specialized
5.1

Extra pressure in the air caused by a sound wave that we can measure

standard pressure
  • Specialized
4.4

The pressure at sea level used as a reference equal to a 760 mm column of mercury at zero Celsius

How Stressful

pressure
3.1
no pressure
  • Informal
18 3.3

Surface Forms

pressure singular
pressures plural

Morphology

pressure = press (semi-transparent) = press + ure

Formally 'press' + '-ure' is clear, but the psychological/metaphorical sense 'stress or demands' is an extended meaning.

Etymology

Pressure comes from the root press, which means 'to push' or 'to squeeze'. So when people say they feel pressure, it is like being 'squeezed' by many demands or stress.