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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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

The percentage of Californians (including non-likely voters) who called energy costs a big problem rose 9 points from last July — a sign of the growing pressures high gasoline costs and electrical bills are bringing to bear on state residents. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026 Africa’s largest oil refinery has moved to price its products in Nigeria in US dollars, which could increase inflationary pressures ahead of presidential elections in January. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 15 July 2026 Ad Opening a gold IRA removes some of the pressures of investing in physical gold. — Liz Knueven, CNBC, 15 July 2026 In regard to what keeps retailers up at night, cost pressures topped the list. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 15 July 2026 Set in the immigrant neighborhoods of 1950s Brooklyn, Miller’s searing tragedy explores the tensions between devotion and desire, justice and loyalty, and the promise and pressures of the American Dream. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 July 2026 The corporate pressures to grow, to continue increasing profits for shareholders and to squeeze more revenue from workers and assets keep these tech companies seeking more land on which to build more data centers. — Laura Mullenbach, Fortune, 14 July 2026 In general, Fed officials hope that higher rates will lead to less borrowing and spending, thereby lowering inflationary pressures. — Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 14 July 2026 As the spouses navigate royal duties and the pressures of public life, William and Kate have always put their children’s well-being first. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 14 July 2026

Verb

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 This then pressures the Federal Reserve to finance the debt through monetary expansion, which causes inflation and drives up interest rates. — Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026 If someone pressures you to send money immediately, treat it as a warning sign. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2026 Noah pressures her to choose him and accuses her of being a gold digger in the process. — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026 Businesses are either forced to absorb rising input costs, which pressures profit margins, or pass them through to clients, which adds to inflationary pressures. — Paulina Likos,zev Fima, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pressures

Noun

Sadly, the couple broke up in 2021 amid stresses during the COVID-19 pandemic, TMZ reported.

— Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
This structural arrangement causes the unwanted electrical stresses to cancel out at the system level, resulting in zero total common-mode voltage and zero net neutral-point current under ideal operating conditions.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 8 July 2026

Definition of stresses

Noun

Like any political phenomenon, the constraints on Bolsonaro can be explained in multiple ways.

— Cristina Buarque de Hollanda, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026
The software evaluates millions of potential operating conditions in order to find the limited periods when transmission constraints actually occur.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 9 July 2026

Definition of constraints

Verb

Will’s obsessive, put-upon mother, Susan (Tandi Wright), belittles Alice, dresses her down for her attire at the funeral, and forces her to wear heels that don’t fit, leaving her feet bloody.

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 10 July 2026
This system forces new buyers to shoulder a much higher tax rate, which effectively locks young and minority families out of the housing market.

— Dale V.C. Holness, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026

Definition of forces

Noun

More than an intricate game of cat-and-mouse, the crime drama plays on the tensions between nature and nurture while unpacking the dangers and vulnerabilities that come with loving other people.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 July 2026
But the resumption of tensions in the strait have slowed those transits to a trickle – just over a dozen on Sunday.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 15 July 2026

Definition of tensions

Verb

The piece is over before the mental picture really develops, which only compels me to start it over again.

— Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 14 July 2026
Further, since a charging order compels an LLC to re-direct distribution payments to the creditor, the appeals court further mused that such was enough to create standing since the LLCs needed to know who to pay.

— Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Definition of compels

Noun

Unprecedented consumption patterns from data storage centers and artificial intelligence computing infrastructure have placed new strains on municipal electricity grids.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 9 July 2026
Though most cases of infection pass, some strains can lead to a life-threatening type of kidney failure, particularly in young children and older adults.

— Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 9 July 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