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stress

1. Forcibly exerted influence, pressure. In dentistry, the pressure of the upper teeth against the lower in mastication.

2. The sum of the biological reactions to any adverse stimulus, physical, mental or emotional, internal or external, that tends to disturb the organisms homeostasis, should these compensating reactions be inadequate or inappropriate, they may lead to disorders. The term is also used to refer to the stimuli that elicit the reactions. 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- R.J.Samuelson.