Stress (noun) refers to the force or emphasis placed on a syllable or word, often affecting pronunciation and meaning. It also denotes mental or emotional strain arising from demanding circumstances. In linguistics, stress is the relative prominence of syllables within a word or phrase, influencing rhythm and intelligibility in speech.
"The word “record” changes its part of speech based on stress: REcord (noun) vs. reCORD (verb)."
"She felt a lot of stress before the exam and studied late into the night."
"In English, stress patterns help distinguish meaning in multi-syllable words like ‘record’ and ‘record’."
"The manager emphasized the stress points in the project plan to ensure timely delivery."
Stress comes from the Old French estresse, derived from Latin strictus meaning drawn tight or strained. In English, the term began in the semantic field of physical pressure and load distribution, then extended to emotional tension and, later, to linguistic prominence. Early usage in the 14th century often referred to pressure or strain, with 16th–17th century texts adopting it to describe mental tension. By the 18th century, “stress” also entered mechanical and scientific contexts (physical stress, tensile stress). In linguistics, the concept of syllable prominence began to be analyzed in the 19th and 20th centuries as part of prosody and phonology, highlighting how stressed syllables influence rhythm, timing, and intelligibility in speech. The modern usage combines physical, psychological, and linguistic senses, with “stress” as a central term in articulatory phonetics and speech prosody. First known use in English attested in the 14th century, with evolving senses clarified in dictionaries by the 1800s, and now ubiquitous across science, psychology, and everyday talk.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Stress" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Stress" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Stress"
-ess sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
🎵 Rhyme tip: Practicing with rhyming words helps you master similar sound patterns and improves your overall pronunciation accuracy.
Stress is pronounced /strɛs/ in US, UK, and AU English. Start with /s/ as in 'see', then /t/ with the tongue on the alveolar ridge, followed quickly by /ɹ/ for the American English rhotic or a light /r/ in some accents, and finish with /ɛ/ (as in 'dress') plus /s/. The key is a crisp initial consonant cluster /str-/, then a short, lax vowel /ɛ/, and final /s/. Audio example: [pronunciation guide to stress].
Common mistakes include over-aspirating the /t/ in the /str/ cluster, pronouncing the vowel as /i/ or /ɪ/ rather than /ɛ/, and elongating the final /s/ leading to a hiss. Correct by keeping the /str/ cluster compact, making the /t/ a light alveolar stop, and using a short /ɛ/ without lengthening the final sound. Practicing with minimal pairs can fix this: stress vs. streaks vs. straps. Focus conch on speed and precision rather than adding extra vowel length.
In US English, /strɛs/ has a clear rhotic /r/ after the /str/ cluster in some dialects, but the /r/ may be less pronounced in non-rhotic varieties. UK English tends toward a slightly shorter vowel duration and a crisper /st/ onset, with less rhotic influence, while Australian English maintains a non-rhotic tendency but may reduce the /ə/ in surrounding syllables and keep /str/ crisp. The main differences are vowel quality and rhoticity, not the consonant cluster itself.
Stress is difficult because it involves a precise consonant cluster /str/ that can be hard to articulate without adding extra aspiration, plus a short lax vowel /ɛ/ that contrasts with more open vowels when hurried. The final /s/ must be unvoiced and sharp to avoid a buzzing hiss. Additionally, different accents subtly alter the vowel height and rounding, which can throw off the expected /ɛ/ sound if you’re listening to unfamiliar speech. Practice with minimal pairs to anchor the sound.
A unique feature is the strong, predictable onset cluster /str/ followed by a short lax vowel /ɛ/ before a final /s/. SEO-wise, users often search for both adjective and noun pronunciations, and the word frequently appears in discussions of linguistics, psychology, and engineering contexts. Focus content on the compact /str/ onset, the short /ɛ/ nucleus, and the loud final /s/ for intelligibility across dialects.
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