stressor en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Proto-Indo-European *streyg- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *strinégti Proto-Italic *stringō Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *stréngʰeti Proto-Italic *strengō Latin stringō Latin distringōder. Old French destrecierbor. Middle English destresse English stress English -or English stressor From stress + -or.
Meanings
-
An environmental condition or influence that stresses (i.e. causes stress for) an organism.
These children are constitutionally sad. Other children, like Luke, develop depressive feelings out of the blue or in response to some mild stressor.
1997, Edward M. Hallowell, When You Worry About the Child You Love, page 162:These paradoxical pleasures […] are acquired by controlling one's exposure to the stressor in gradually increasing doses.
2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 670:Plenty of people see hosting a large group as a stressor.
2023 May 1, Reem Kassis, “What Home Cooking Does That Restaurants Can’t”, in The Atlantic:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| stressors | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
multistressor · nonstressor · antistressor · psychostressor · microstressor · osmostressor · technostressor · immunostressor · macrostressor