PRESSURES Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

pressures 1 of 2

noun

plural of pressure

as in stresses

the burden on one's emotional or mental well-being created by demands on one's time a business executive who works well under pressure

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as in constraints

the use of power to impose one's will on another pressure from their peers can often cause teens to do things that they normally wouldn't consider

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pressures

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pressure

as in forces

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure his father pressured him to go out for the swim team

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pressures

Noun

Prices of the precious commodity have swung dramatically from one season to the next, particularly as issues such as climate change, water scarcity and pest and disease pressures persist. — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026 Spradling said large events can provide a significant boost, but staffing pressures, parking shortages and rising operating expenses remain ongoing challenges. — Kenny Choi, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026 She’s known for a focus on the pressures and sacrifices of artistic women. — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026 He was named second-team All-Big 12, allowing one sack and only five pressures as a sophomore. — Manny Navarro, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026 Colombia and other neighboring countries will face even greater economic and social pressures. — Lynn Northcutt Vega, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2026 Pandl said the Treasury’s move highlighted deeper fiscal pressures and could prompt investors to consider alternative stores of value. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2026 Separating students from those pressures for several hours could encourage face-to-face conversation and give overwhelmed teenagers a genuine break. — Kavin Bendre, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 It’s closely watched for evidence of whether underlying price pressures are easing amid supply shocks that can drive the headline Consumer Price Index number higher. — Rachel Barber, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026

Verb

The scrutiny raised questions about what could happen to his Carvana position if fallout from the investigation pressures him to raise cash. — Yun Li, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026 When The Park pressures him to turn against Lamb and his colleagues to pin MI5’s failure on Slough House, Struan ultimately caves. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2026 Dylan Newsome Being the star athlete, Dylan has a complicated relationship with football because his father pressures him to win. — Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026 The government has offered cash incentives to those willing to leave and pressures others to give up legal efforts by holding them in detention. — Cindy Carcamo, Christian Science Monitor, 22 July 2026 If a company pressures you into signing a contract before evaluating other options, that’s a red flag. — Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 3 July 2026 An activist often pressures a board to focus more on costs, assets, and capital allocation. — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 Allocation system pressures dealers. — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 18 June 2026 The subpoena effectively pressures the state’s three professional football teams — Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — not to apply the league’s diversity hiring practices for top jobs. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pressures

Noun

For me, getting a haircut is a chance to relax, unwind, and take a break from the stresses of daily life.

— R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
These thermal gradients generate stresses that may crack or spall – chip or flake off – the outer surface, but the heat often does not penetrate deeply enough to compromise the structural core.

— Giorgia Giardina, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of stresses

Noun

This is the point where optimization engines and AI recommendations must interact with real people making real operational decisions under real-world constraints.

— George Ninikas, Footwear News, 20 Aug. 2026
But whether the technology behind the spectacle can scale commercially, with AI and software constraints unresolved, remains the question hanging over the stock.

— Anniek Bao,Jenni Reid,Jenny Lee, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of constraints

Verb

Iranian officials dismiss the campaign as familiar punishment, while analysts warn decades of sanctions show pressure alone rarely forces Tehran to yield and may instead harden positions on all sides.

— Farnoush Amiri, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Investors Make Your Financials Non-Negotiable Nothing forces financial discipline like a quarterly investor update.

— Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of forces

Noun

Weeks of Iranian drone and missile attacks on the UAE earlier this year, the vast majority of which were intercepted, sparked tensions among locals and hammered the country's tourism and aviation industry.

— Jenni Reid,Emma Graham, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026
Wednesday, would have escalated tensions between the United States and its northern neighbor, a key trading partner.

— Rachel Lerman, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of tensions

Noun

The real question is whether Pennsylvania and cities like Pittsburgh want skill games and other gambling opportunities to be widespread and unavoidable for people who struggle with compulsions to gamble.

— Jonathan Caulkins, The Conversation, 17 July 2026
These obsessions lead you to do repetitive behaviors, also called compulsions.

— Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026

Definition of compulsions

Verb

Frank’s ruling keeps the proposal to raise the homestead exemption up to $250,000 for Florida property owners on the ballot, but compels Attorney General James Uthmeier to rewrite parts of the plan.

— Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026
The competitive pressure to achieve maximal adoption compels a convergence toward openness.

— Gerui Wang, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Definition of compels

Noun

The Yankees announced Saturday that Stanton had sustained a left calf strain while rehabbing from two calf strains in his right leg.

— Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
The setback occurred a couple of days ago when Stanton — who has missed the past four months due to two separate strains in his right calf — fell while running the bases, manager Aaron Boone said Saturday.

— Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of strains

Verb

However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025