Word adjective
stressful
adj.
US /ˈstɹɛsfəɫ/ UK /stɹˈɛsfəl/ stress·ful
Definition
- 01 B1 Intermediate
making you feel worried or anxious because of too much work or difficult problems.
causing mental or emotional tension; often used to describe environments or events that demand high levels of effort or resilience.
Simple“Moving to a new house can be a very stressful experience for a family.”
In context“The deadline-driven nature of the project created a stressful atmosphere in the office, leading to several heated arguments among the staff.”
PitfallI am very stressful about my exams. I am very stressed about my exams.Use 'stressful' for the situation (the exam) and 'stressed' for your feelings.
Etymology
From stress + -ful.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated