pressing en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈpɹɛsɪŋ/
Meanings
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Needing urgent attention.
And now the world will have to pause a little, and take up that other side of the problem, and in right earnest strive for some solution of that. For it has become pressing.
1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, chapter 3, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book I (Proem), page 20:Four Japanese torpedo boats launch an attack on the Suvorov. Despite burning steadily for several hours and now taking a torpedo to the stern, the ship still lashes out at its attackers with a few remaining guns. With no pressing need to continue the attack to closer range, the torpedo boats fall back, noting the position for a night attack if Suvorov survives that long.
2019 September 18, Drachinifel, 25:58 from the start, in Battle of Tsushima - When the 2nd Pacific Squadron thought it couldn't get any worse..., archived from the original on 04 Dec 2022:The rebuilding of damaged stations is proceeding slowly, on account of the shortage of building materials and the pressing needs of housing, but steady progress is being made.
1951 March, E. J. Tyler, “Post-War Recovery on the Netherlands Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 157:Argentinians support the "Malvinas" cause, which is written into the constitution. But they are also worried about pressing economic problems such as inflation, rising crime and corruption.
2013 January 3, Luke Harding, Uki Goni, “Argentina urges UK to hand back Falklands and 'end colonialism'”, in The Guardian:“I come on business.—Private,” he added, with a glance at the man who stood looking on, “and very pressing business.”
1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 75.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC:
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Insistent, earnest, or persistent.
He was pressing and persuasive.
1908, Joseph Conrad, The Duel:You are very pressing, Basil, but I am afraid I must go.
1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter 2, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more pressing | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most pressing | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
pressingness · pressingly · unpressing
Synonyms
Translations (17)
it persistente (insistent, earnest, or persistent) · ru неотло́жный (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · es apremiante (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · it pressante (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · bg неотложен (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · it insistente (insistent, earnest, or persistent) · es acuciante (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · bg настоятелен (insistent, earnest, or persistent) · bg спешен (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · yi אײַליק (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · it imminente (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · es que apremia (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · it urgente (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · la instans (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · fa فوری (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · ga práinneach (needing urgent attention — see also urgent) · mi kōhukihuki (needing urgent attention — see also urgent)