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Force vs. Stress — What's the Difference?

Force vs. Stress — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Force and Stress

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Force

In physics, a force is any influence that, when unopposed, will change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (which includes to begin moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate.

Stress

Pressure or tension exerted on a material object
The distribution of stress is uniform across the bar

Force

Strength or energy as an attribute of physical action or movement
He was thrown backwards by the force of the explosion

Stress

A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances
He's obviously under a lot of stress
Stress-related illnesses

Force

Coercion or compulsion, especially with the use or threat of violence
They ruled by law and not by force
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Stress

Physiological disturbance or damage caused to an organism by adverse circumstances
In many areas irrigation is warranted to avoid plant stress

Force

Mental or moral strength or power
The force of popular opinion

Stress

Particular emphasis or importance
He has started to lay greater stress on the government's role in industry

Force

An organized body of military personnel or police
A British peacekeeping force

Stress

Give particular emphasis or importance to (a point, statement, or idea) made in speech or writing
They stressed the need for reform
‘I want it done very, very neatly,’ she stressed
She was anxious to stress that her daughter's safety was her only concern

Force

A waterfall.

Stress

Subject to pressure or tension
This type of workout does stress the shoulder and knee joints

Force

Make a way through or into by physical strength; break open by force
The back door of the bank was forced

Stress

Cause mental or emotional strain or tension in
I avoid many of the things that used to stress me before

Force

Make (someone) do something against their will
The universities were forced to cut staff
She was forced into early retirement

Stress

Importance, significance, or emphasis placed on something.

Force

The capacity to do work or cause physical change; energy, strength, or active power
The force of an explosion.

Stress

The relative force with which a sound or syllable is spoken.

Force

Power made operative against resistance; exertion
Use force in driving a nail.

Stress

The emphasis placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a word or phrase.

Force

The use of physical power or violence to compel or restrain
A confession obtained by force.

Stress

The relative force of sound or emphasis given a syllable or word in accordance with a metrical pattern.

Force

Intellectual power or vigor, especially as conveyed in writing or speech.

Stress

A syllable having strong relative emphasis in a metrical pattern.

Force

Moral strength.

Stress

An accent or mark representing such emphasis or force.

Force

A capacity for affecting the mind or behavior; efficacy
The force of logical argumentation.

Stress

The internal distribution of force per unit area within a body subject to an applied force or system of forces.

Force

One that possesses such capacity
The forces of evil.

Stress

The internal resistance of a body to such an applied force or system of forces.

Force

A body of persons or other resources organized or available for a certain purpose
A large labor force.

Stress

A condition of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain
"He presided over the economy during the period of its greatest stress and danger" (Robert J. Samuelson).

Force

A person or group capable of influential action
A retired senator who is still a force in national politics.

Stress

A condition of physiological or psychological disturbance to the normal functioning or well-being of an organism, occurring as a response to any of various environmental or psychosocial stimuli. Signs and symptoms of stress in humans include increased blood pressure, insomnia, and irritability.

Force

Military strength.

Stress

A stimulus or circumstance causing such a condition
Couldn't stand the stresses of the job and quit.

Force

A unit of a nation's military personnel, especially one deployed into combat
Our armed forces have at last engaged the enemy.

Stress

To place emphasis on
Stressed basic fire safety in her talk.

Force

A vector quantity indicating the strength and direction of the capacity to accelerate a body. Newton's second law of motion states that a free body accelerates in the direction of the net force and that its acceleration is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to its mass.

Stress

To give prominence of sound to (a syllable or word) in pronouncing or in accordance with a metrical pattern.

Force

See fundamental force.

Stress

(Informal) To subject to physiological or mental stress or strain. Often used with out
The pressure of the deadline is really stressing me out.

Force

(Baseball) A force play.

Stress

To subject to mechanical pressure or force.

Force

To compel through pressure or necessity
I forced myself to practice daily. He was forced to take a second job.

Stress

To undergo physiological or mental stress, as from working too much. Often used with out.

Force

To gain by the use of force or coercion
Force a confession.

Stress

(biology) A physical, chemical, infective agent aggressing an organism.

Force

To move or effect against resistance or inertia
Forced my foot into the shoe.

Stress

(biology) Aggression toward an organism resulting in a response in an attempt to restore previous conditions.

Force

To inflict or impose relentlessly
He forced his ideas upon the group.

Stress

The internal distribution of force across a small boundary per unit area of that boundary (pressure) within a body. It causes strain or deformation and is typically symbolised by σ or τ.

Force

To put undue strain on
She forced her voice despite being hoarse.

Stress

Force externally applied to a body which cause internal stress within the body.

Force

To increase or accelerate (a pace, for example) to the maximum.

Stress

(uncountable) Emotional pressure suffered by a human being or other animal.
Go easy on him, he's been under a lot of stress lately.

Force

To produce with effort and against one's will
Force a laugh in spite of pain.

Stress

A suprasegmental feature of a language having additional attention raised to a sound, word or word group by means of of loudness, duration or pitch; phonological prominence.
Some people put the stress on the first syllable of “controversy”; others put it on the second.

Force

To use (language) with obvious lack of ease and naturalness.

Stress

The suprasegmental feature of a language having additional attention raised to a sound by means of of loudness and/or duration; phonological prominence phonetically achieved by means of dynamics as distinct from pitch.

Force

To move, open, or clear by force
Forced our way through the crowd.

Stress

(uncountable) Emphasis placed on a particular point in an argument or discussion (whether spoken or written).

Force

To break down or open by force
Force a lock.

Stress

Obsolete form of distress

Force

To rape.

Stress

Distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained.

Force

To induce change in (a complex system) by changing one of its parameters
Greenhouse gases that force the earth's climate.

Stress

(transitive) To apply force to (a body or structure) causing strain.

Force

(Botany) To cause to grow or mature by artificially accelerating normal processes.

Stress

(transitive) To apply emotional pressure to (a person or animal).

Force

To put (a runner) out on a force play.

Stress

To suffer stress; to worry or be agitated.

Force

To allow (a run) to be scored by walking a batter when the bases are loaded.

Stress

(transitive) To emphasise (a syllable of a word).
“Emphasis” is stressed on the first syllable, but “emphatic” is stressed on the second.

Force

(Games) To cause an opponent to play (a particular card).

Stress

(transitive) To emphasise (words in speaking).

Force

Strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.
The force of an appeal, an argument, or a contract

Stress

(transitive) To emphasise (a point) in an argument or discussion.
I must stress that this information is given in strict confidence.

Force

Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion.

Stress

Distress.
Sad hersal of his heavy stress.

Force

(countable) Anything that is able to make a substantial change in a person or thing.

Stress

Pressure, strain; - used chiefly of immaterial things; except in mechanics; hence, urgency; importance; weight; significance.
The faculties of the mind are improved by exercise, yet they must not be put to a stress beyond their strength.
A body may as well lay too little as too much stress upon a dream.

Force

A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn)

Stress

The force, or combination of forces, which produces a strain; force exerted in any direction or manner between contiguous bodies, or parts of bodies, and taking specific names according to its direction, or mode of action, as thrust or pressure, pull or tension, shear or tangential stress.
Stress is the mutual action between portions of matter.

Force

Something or anything that has the power to produce a physical effect upon something else, such as causing it to move or change shape.

Stress

Force of utterance expended upon words or syllables. Stress is in English the chief element in accent and is one of the most important in emphasis. See Guide to pronunciation, 31-35.

Force

(countable) A group that aims to attack, control, or constrain.
Reinforcemented increased the American force in the area to 9,000
Police force

Stress

Distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained.

Force

(uncountable) The ability to attack, control, or constrain.
Show of force

Stress

To press; to urge; to distress; to put to difficulties.

Force

(countable) A magic trick in which the outcome is known to the magician beforehand, especially one involving the apparent free choice of a card by another person.

Stress

To subject to stress, pressure, or strain.

Force

(legal) Legal validity.
The law will come into force in January.

Stress

To subject to phonetic stress; to accent.

Force

(legal) Either unlawful violence, as in a "forced entry", or lawful compulsion.

Stress

To place emphasis on; to make emphatic; emphasize.

Force

Ability of an utterance or its element (word, form, prosody, ...) to effect a given meaning.

Stress

The relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch);
He put the stress on the wrong syllable

Force

|often|capitalized}}Star Wars A metaphysical and ubiquitous power from the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. See usage note.

Stress

(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense;
He suffered from fatigue and emotional tension
Stress is a vasoconstrictor

Force

Synonym of police force

Stress

(physics) force that produces strain on a physical body;
The intensity of stress is expressed in units of force divided by units of area

Force

A waterfall or cascade.

Stress

Special emphasis attached to something;
The stress was more on accuracy than on speed

Force

(transitive) To violate (a woman); to rape.

Stress

Difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension;
She endured the stresses and strains of life
He presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger

Force

To exert oneself, to do one's utmost.

Stress

To stress, single out as important;
Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet

Force

(transitive) To compel (someone or something) to do something.

Stress

Put stress on; utter with an accent;
In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word

Force

(transitive) To constrain by force; to overcome the limitations or resistance of.

Stress

Test the limits of;
You are trying my patience!

Force

(transitive) To drive (something) by force, to propel (generally + prepositional phrase or adverb).

Force

(transitive) To cause to occur (despite inertia, resistance etc.); to produce through force.
The comedian's jokes weren't funny, but I forced a laugh now and then.

Force

(transitive) To forcibly open (a door, lock etc.).
To force a lock.

Force

To obtain or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress.

Force

To create an out by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground.
Jones forced the runner at second by stepping on the bag.

Force

(whist) To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit that he/she does not hold.

Force

(archaic) To put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce.

Force

(archaic) To provide with forces; to reinforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison.

Force

(obsolete) To allow the force of; to value; to care for.

Force

To stuff; to lard; to farce.

Force

To stuff; to lard; to farce.
Wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit.

Force

To constrain to do or to forbear, by the exertion of a power not resistible; to compel by physical, moral, or intellectual means; to coerce; as, masters force slaves to labor.

Force

To compel, as by strength of evidence; as, to force conviction on the mind.

Force

To do violence to; to overpower, or to compel by violence to one's will; especially, to ravish; to violate; to commit rape upon.
To force their monarch and insult the court.
I should have forced thee soon wish other arms.
To force a spotless virgin's chastity.

Force

To obtain, overcome, or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress; as, to force the castle; to force a lock.

Force

To impel, drive, wrest, extort, get, etc., by main strength or violence; - with a following adverb, as along, away, from, into, through, out, etc.
It stuck so fast, so deeply buried layThat scarce the victor forced the steel away.
To force the tyrant from his seat by war.
Ethelbert ordered that none should be forced into religion.

Force

To put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce.
What can the church force more?

Force

To exert to the utmost; to urge; hence, to strain; to urge to excessive, unnatural, or untimely action; to produce by unnatural effort; as, to force a conceit or metaphor; to force a laugh; to force fruits.
High on a mounting wave my head I bore,Forcing my strength, and gathering to the shore.

Force

To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit of which he has none.

Force

To provide with forces; to reënforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison.

Force

To allow the force of; to value; to care for.
For me, I force not argument a straw.

Force

To use violence; to make violent effort; to strive; to endeavor.
Forcing with gifts to win his wanton heart.

Force

To make a difficult matter of anything; to labor; to hesitate; hence, to force of, to make much account of; to regard.
Your oath once broke, you force not to forswear.
I force not of such fooleries.

Force

To be of force, importance, or weight; to matter.
It is not sufficient to have attained the name and dignity of a shepherd, not forcing how.

Force

A waterfall; a cascade.
To see the falls for force of the river Kent.

Force

Capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect; strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigor; might; often, an unusual degree of strength or energy; especially, power to persuade, or convince, or impose obligation; pertinency; validity; special signification; as, the force of an appeal, an argument, a contract, or a term.
He was, in the full force of the words, a good man.

Force

Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion; as, by force of arms; to take by force.
Which now they hold by force, and not by right.

Force

Strength or power for war; hence, a body of land or naval combatants, with their appurtenances, ready for action; - an armament; troops; warlike array; - often in the plural; hence, a body of men prepared for action in other ways; as, the laboring force of a plantation; the armed forces.
Is Lucius general of the forces?

Force

Strength or power exercised without law, or contrary to law, upon persons or things; violence.

Force

Any action between two bodies which changes, or tends to change, their relative condition as to rest or motion; or, more generally, which changes, or tends to change, any physical relation between them, whether mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, or of any other kind; as, the force of gravity; cohesive force; centrifugal force.
Thy tears are of no force to mollifyThis flinty man.
More huge in strength than wise in works he was.
Adam and first matron EveHad ended now their orisons, and foundStrength added from above, new hope to springOut of despair.

Force

A unit that is part of some military service;
He sent Caesar a force of six thousand men

Force

One possessing or exercising power or influence or authority;
The mysterious presence of an evil power
May the force be with you
The forces of evil

Force

(physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity;
Force equals mass times acceleration

Force

Group of people willing to obey orders;
A public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens

Force

A powerful effect or influence;
The force of his eloquence easily persuaded them

Force

An act of aggression (as one against a person who resists);
He may accomplish by craft in the long run what he cannot do by force and violence in the short one

Force

Physical energy or intensity;
He hit with all the force he could muster
It was destroyed by the strength of the gale
A government has not the vitality and forcefulness of a living man

Force

A group of people having the power of effective action;
He joined forces with a band of adventurers

Force

(of a law) having legal validity;
The law is still in effect

Force

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

Force

Urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate

Force

Move with force,
He pushed the table into a corner

Force

Impose or thrust urgently, importunately, or inexorably;
She forced her diet fads on him

Force

Squeeze like a wedge into a tight space;
I squeezed myself into the corner

Force

Force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically;
She rammed her mind into focus
He drives me mad

Force

Do forcibly; exert force;
Don't force it!

Force

Cause to move along the ground by pulling;
Draw a wagon
Pull a sled

Force

Take by force;
Storm the fort

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