Pressure
Pressure noun - The burden on one's emotional or mental well-being created by demands on one's time.
Usage example: a business executive who works well under pressure
Strain is a synonym for pressure in stress topic. In some cases you can use "Strain" instead the word "Pressure" as a noun or a verb, when it comes to topics like activity, effort, demand, anxiety. popular alternative
Strain
Strain noun - The burden on one's emotional or mental well-being created by demands on one's time.
Usage example: the family's constant moving is putting a real strain on the children
Pressure is a synonym for strain in stress topic. You can use "Pressure" instead the word "Strain" as a noun or a verb, if it concerns topics such as effort, anxiety, push, tension. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| emotional | emotional pressure | emotional strain |
| physical | physical pressure | physical strain |
| considerable | considerable pressure | considerable strain |
| sheer | sheer pressure | sheer strain |
| Other adjectives: heavy, strong, constant, severe, massive, extreme, great, intense, serious, enormous, huge, psychic, incredible, mental, psychological, less, further, extra, additional, immense, tremendous. | ||
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
-
She finally admits it to Kaoru later on, and the pressure of having to keep the relationship a secret while watching other women be so openly affectionate puts a great strain on her.
Source: Manga / Ai Yori Aoshi -
Likewise, by this time Henry Bowers should have been apprehended by the Derry Police, and under intense pressure from both police questioning and severe psychological strain from what transpired in the sewers, falsely confessed to the murders and sent off to Juniper Hill.
Source: Literature / 11/22/63 -
Billie becomes famous instantly and she and Dice hook up, but the pressure of her newfound celebrity begins to put a strain on their relationship, which forces Billie to decide what she wants from Dice, and what she wants for herself.The film was a commercial and critical flop.
Source: Film / Glitter
Cite this Source
Strain and Pressure. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/pressure/strain
Pressure & Strain. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/pressure/strain>.
Strain or Pressure. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/pressure/strain.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "pressure" and "strain" have occurred on timeline