Synonyms of pressing

pressing 1 of 3

adjective

ˈpre-siŋ 

as in urgent

needing immediate attention

she had pressing business on the other side of town

Synonyms & Similar Words

• urgent
• acute
• critical
• crying
• emergent
• intense
• burning
• compelling
• dire
• imperative
• importunate
• desperate
• insistent
• exigent
• serious
• instant
• overriding
• immediate
• clamant
• demanding
• imperious
• crucial
• extreme
• dangerous
• necessitous
• life-and-death
• hazardous
• severe
• vital
• explosive
• precarious
• grave
• perilous
• unstable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• minor
• incidental
• trivial
• unimportant
• negligible
• low-pressure
• noncritical
• nonurgent
• stable
• safe
• nonthreatening

pressing

2 of 3

verb (1)

present participle of press

as in seizing

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right

the fleeing bank robber pressed a nearby taxi into service as a getaway car

Synonyms & Similar Words

• seizing
• grabbing
• confiscating
• occupying
• converting
• usurping
• stealing
• preempting
• claiming
• invading
• annexing
• commandeering
• appropriating
• pirating
• snatching
• arrogating
• taking over
• assuming
• attaching
• expropriating
• looting
• grasping
• encroaching
• preoccupying
• sequestering
• repossessing
• impounding
• pillaging
• wrenching
• despoiling
• collaring
• trespassing
• infringing
• wresting
• misusing
• misapplying
• peculating
• embezzling
• misappropriating

pressing

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of press

1

as in shoving

to push steadily against with some force

an old doorbell that requires you to press the button hard

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoving
• compressing
• squeezing
• punching
• depressing
• bearing (down on)
• weighing (on or upon)
• forcing
• mashing
• pressuring
• squashing
• thrusting
• squishing
• jamming
• compelling
• squooshing
• crushing
• propelling
• muscling
• wedging
• leaning (on or against)
• compacting
• driving
• packing
• constricting
• condensing
• wringing
• contracting
• scrunching
• cramming
• stuffing
• jam-packing

2

as in squeezing

to apply external pressure on so as to force out the juice or contents of

my family will only drink juice from freshly pressed oranges

Synonyms & Similar Words

• squeezing
• crushing
• mashing
• expressing
• extracting
• reaming
• extruding
• pulping
• pureeing

3

as in huddling

to gather into a closely packed group

everyone pressed around me to see the pictures

Synonyms & Similar Words

• huddling
• crowding
• piling
• bunching
• assembling
• clustering
• surrounding
• converging
• swarming
• flocking
• concentrating
• hugging
• thronging
• collecting
• convening
• herding
• encircling
• congregating
• conglomerating
• concentering
• forgathering
• mobbing
• embracing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• splitting (up)
• dispersing
• breaking up
• disbanding

4

as in pushing

to force one's way

we continued to press deeper and deeper into the tangled rain forest

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pushing
• squeezing
• shoving
• jamming
• crashing
• jostling
• elbowing
• shouldering
• bulldozing
• boring
• thrusting
• muscling
• bulling
• ramming

5

as in forcing

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure

a manager pressed by a business crisis to return from his vacation ahead of schedule

Synonyms & Similar Words

• forcing
• coercing
• compelling
• obliging
• obligating
• driving
• pressuring
• constraining
• impressing
• dragooning
• making
• muscling
• impelling
• blackmailing
• intimidating
• sandbagging
• blackjacking
• bullying
• dragging
• threatening
• browbeating
• twisting one's arm
• bulldozing
• cowing
• hectoring
• badgering
• terrorizing
• hounding
• shaming
• menacing
• harassing
• high-pressuring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• letting
• permitting
• allowing
• moving
• talking (into)
• arguing
• inducing
• satisfying
• winning (over)
• prevailing (on or upon)
• persuading
• convincing

6

as in urging

to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action

pressed us to go with them to the school board meeting

Synonyms & Similar Words

• urging
• encouraging
• nudging
• prompting
• pushing
• prodding
• spurring
• exhorting
• goading
• coaxing
• egging (on)
• propelling
• stimulating
• driving
• hurrying
• pressuring
• imploring
• rushing
• provoking
• beseeching
• importuning
• hustling
• cajoling
• wheedling
• nagging
• fomenting
• stirring (up)
• needling
• inciting
• blandishing
• adjuring
• instigating
• soft-soaping
• high-pressuring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• discouraging
• deterring
• checking
• restraining
• braking
• dissuading
• curbing
• inhibiting
• constraining
• holding back

7

as in highlighting

to indicate the importance of by centering attention on

an office e-mail that presses the need for greater vigilance concerning building security

Synonyms & Similar Words

• highlighting
• emphasizing
• stressing
• featuring
• punctuating
• identifying
• focusing
• pointing (up)
• accentuating
• foregrounding
• accenting
• illuminating
• playing up
• promoting
• bearing down on
• making much of
• pinpointing
• publicizing
• advertising
• spotlighting
• plugging
• boosting
• overplaying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• playing down
• minimizing
• toning (down)
• de-emphasizing
• understating
• discounting
• disparaging
• belittling
• underemphasizing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pressing

Adjective

Watch this From the biggest names in their fields to experts on the most pressing topics of our time, NPR is breaking down the stories that matter through our in-depth interviews. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 26 Feb. 2026

Housing was second with 24% of respondents naming it the most pressing problem. —State House News Service, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2026

Verb

America has been pressing the Gulf country to dismantle those networks. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 6 Mar. 2026

Kennedy has spent months pressing schools to increase nutrition education, threatening funding cuts for those that refuse and promising public recognition for those that comply. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 5 Mar. 2026