Pressure

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pressure \Pres"sure\ (?; 138), n. [OF., fr. L. pressura, fr.
     premere. See 4th {Press}.]
     1. The act of pressing, or the condition of being pressed;
        compression; a squeezing; a crushing; as, a pressure of
        the hand.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. A contrasting force or impulse of any kind; as, the
        pressure of poverty; the pressure of taxes; the pressure
        of motives on the mind; the pressure of civilization.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Where the pressure of danger was not felt.
                                                    --Macaulay.
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     3. Affliction; distress; grievance.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              My people's pressures are grievous.   --Eikon
                                                    Basilike.
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              In the midst of his great troubles and pressures.
                                                    --Atterbury.
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     4. Urgency; as, the pressure of business.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. Impression; stamp; character impressed.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past.
                                                    --Shak.
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     6. (Mech.) The action of a force against some obstacle or
        opposing force; a force in the nature of a thrust,
        distributed over a surface, often estimated with reference
        to the amount upon a unit's area.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. Electro-motive force.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     {Atmospheric pressure}, {Center of pressure}, etc. See under
        {Atmospheric}, {Center}, etc.
  
     {Back pressure} (Steam engine), pressure which resists the
        motion of the piston, as the pressure of exhaust steam
        which does not find free outlet.
  
     {Fluid pressure}, pressure like that exerted by a fluid. It
        is a thrust which is normal and equally intense in all
        directions around a point. --Rankine.
  
     {Pressure gauge}, a gauge for indicating fluid pressure; a
        manometer.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  pressure
       n 1: the force applied to a unit area of surface; measured in
            pascals (SI unit) or in dynes (cgs unit); "the
            compressed gas exerts an increased pressure" [syn: {pressure
            level}, {force per unit area}]
       2: a force that compels; "the public brought pressure to bear
          on the government"
       3: the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure; "he gave the
          button a press"; "he used pressure to stop the bleeding";
          "at the pressing of a button" [syn: {press}, {pressing}]
       4: the state of urgently demanding notice or attention; "the
          press of business matters" [syn: {imperativeness}, {insistence},
           {insistency}, {press}]
       5: the somatic sensation of pressure; "the sensitivity of his
          skin to pressure and temperature was normal" [syn: {pressure
          sensation}]
       6: an oppressive condition of physical or mental or social or
          economic distress
       v 1: to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical,
            moral or intellectual means :"She forced him to take a
            job in the city"; "He squeezed her for information"
            [syn: {coerce}, {hale}, {squeeze}, {force}]
       2: exert pressure on someone through threats [syn: {blackmail},
           {blackjack}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  297 Moby Thesaurus words for "pressure":
     abetment, adverse circumstances, adversity, advocate, affliction,
     aggravation, albatross, annoyance, apply pressure,
     argumentum baculinum, ascendancy, authority, bale, bear against,
     bear down on, bear down upon, bear hard upon, bearing, beset,
     besiege, blandish, blandishment, blight, boost, bug, bummer, bump,
     bunt, burden, burdening, burthen, butt, buttonhole, buttonholing,
     cajole, cajolement, cajolery, call on, call upon, care, caressing,
     cargo, case of need, charge, charging, charisma, charm, clamping,
     clamping down, clout, clutch, coax, coaxing, coerce, coercion,
     compel, compression, compulsion, consequence, constrain,
     constraint, constraints, control, credit, crisis, cross, crunch,
     crush, crushing, cumber, cumbrance, curse, deadweight, demand,
     demandingness, demands, difficulties, difficulty, dig,
     dire necessity, distress, dominance, domination, downer, drag,
     drive, dun, dunning, duress, effect, emergency, eminence,
     enchantment, encouragement, encumbrance, esteem, exert pressure,
     exhort, exigence, exigencies, exigency, favor, feeling, fingering,
     force, freight, friction, frottage, goading, good feeling,
     greatness, handicap, handling, hard knocks, hard life, hard lot,
     hardcase, hardship, head, high pressure, high-pressure, hold,
     hustle, immediacy, impel, imperative, imperativeness, importance,
     importunacy, importunateness, importune, importunity, impulse,
     impulsion, incidental power, incubus, incumbency, inducement,
     influence, influentiality, influentialness, insinuation, insist,
     insist on, insist upon, insistence, instance, intimidate,
     intimidation, irritation, jab, jawbone, jog, joggle, jolt, jostle,
     lading, leadership, lean on, leverage, load, loading, lobby,
     magnetism, make, manipulation, mastery, matter of necessity,
     mental strain, millstone, moment, nag, nag at, nagging, needling,
     nervous strain, nervous tension, nip, nudge, oppression, overload,
     overtaxing, overweighting, palpation, persistence, personality,
     persuade, persuasion, pertinaciousness, pertinacity, pester,
     pestering, petting, pinch, plague, plaguing, plead with, plight,
     ply, plying, poke, potency, power, precedence, predicament,
     predominance, preponderance, press, pressing, pressingness,
     prestige, prevail on, prevail upon, pricking, priority, problems,
     prod, prodding, prominence, punch, purchase, push, put pressure on,
     rank, rash impulse, recommend, reign, repute, require, rigor,
     rubbing, rule, rush, saddling, say, sea of troubles, seniority,
     shove, soft-soap, spurring, squeeze, squeezing, stature, strain,
     straits, strength, stress, stress and strain, stress of life,
     stroking, strong-arm tactics, suasion, subtle influence,
     suggestion, superincumbency, supremacy, surcharge, sway,
     sweet-talk, tautness, taxing, tease, teasing, tenseness, tension,
     the big stick, the bludgeon, the club, the jackboot,
     the mailed fist, the strong arm, the sword, thrust, tightening,
     torque, torsion, touching, trial, tribulation, trouble, troubles,
     tweak, upper hand, urge, urgency, urgent need, urging,
     vale of tears, vexation, vicissitude, violence, weight,
     weightiness, wheedle, wheedling, whip hand, work on