stressed

adjective

ˈstrest 

: subjected to or affected by stress

Feeling stressed can often lead people to reach for a high-calorie, sugary comfort food.

—Alexa Mikhail

As important as training is to distance running, the time devoted to repair stressed muscles between races is even more crucial.

—Joseph Hall

That translates into a drought, and stressed trees are highly susceptible to beetle infestations.

—Jim Robbins

… the soundscape inside these vehicles, punctuated by mechanical rattles and the groans of stressed metal …

—Chris Knight

—often used with out

—often hyphenated before a noun

She's never looked so stressed out, or been so unflatteringly photographed.

—David Ansen

… the kind of help most stressed-out parents can only dream of …

—Michelle Tauber et al.

Synonyms of stressed

• tired
• exhausted
• nervous

Examples of stressed in a Sentence

He was feeling pretty stressed about the deadline.

you seem really stressed right now, so maybe you should try to do something more relaxing

Recent Examples on the Web

That framing changes the design goal from awareness to state change, helping a user fall asleep faster, calm a stressed nervous system or manage a chronic condition in real time. — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026

Parents who are highly stressed and who aren’t getting needed support are more likely to experience a mental health mood disorder after having a baby. — Parents, 25 June 2026

Cocoa butter softens and migrates toward the surface, resulting in fat bloom—the chalky, grayish-white film that appears on chocolate that has been temperature-stressed. — Anne Wolf, Martha Stewart, 1 July 2026

On top of that, supporting developing fruit requires a lot of energy and moisture from plants, and leaving ripe fruit on plants too long can make plants more stressed and vulnerable to drying out. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing stressed

• stressed been
• stressed BIN
• stressed-out

Rhymes for stressed

• abreast
• accessed
• addressed
• appressed
• armrest
• arrest
• assessed
• attest
• backrest
• behest
• bequest
• caressed