unstressed

American  

[uhn-strest] / ʌnˈstrɛst /

adjective

1. without stress or emphasis, as a syllable in a word.

2. not receiving or subjected to stress, wear, etc..

   the unstressed parts of a car body.

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unstressed British  

/ ʌnˈstrɛst /

adjective

1. carrying relatively little stress; unemphasized

2. phonetics of, relating to, or denoting the weakest accent in a word or breath group, which in some languages, such as English or German, is also associated with a reduction in vowel quality to a centralized (i) or (a)

3. prosody (of a syllable in verse) having no stress or accent

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Etymology

Origin of unstressed

First recorded in 1880–85; un- ¹ + stress + -ed ²

Explanation

An unstressed syllable is the part of the word that you don't emphasize or accent, like the to- in today, or the -day in Sunday. An unstressed person is someone for whom every day feels like Sunday. When you pronounce a word with multiple syllables, like avocado (to choose a random example), you put more pressure on some syllables than others — in this case, the ah and the cah. Consider those syllables stressed. If they were people, they'd be biting their nails and pulling out their hair while sitting at a desk piled with paperwork. The vo and the do, on the other hand, would be unstressed — lounging with their feet on the desk, doing crossword puzzles.

Example Sentences

Bound together under unstressed conditions, Keap1 releases Nrf2 to do its antioxidant work when needed.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2024

Now imagine yourself in total control of your money, unstressed, thriving, deciding how you’ll spend your credit card cash-back rewards.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2021

Pausing at the unstressed sound in the middle of word, she collected herself, started again, and nailed the second 'e', jumping for joy on stage when told she was correct.

From Reuters • Jul. 9, 2021

Their sperm had altered levels of specific sncRNA groups—albeit different ones from those altered in Mansuy's mice—and their offspring were more anxious and less sociable than the offspring of unstressed parents.

From Science Magazine • Jul. 18, 2019

Second, this rhythm of meaning is wedded to a rhythm of sound which is achieved by the observance of a varying proportion between stressed or heavily accented syllables and unstressed.

From Jeremiah : Being The Baird Lecture for 1922 by Smith, George Adam, Sir

Related Words

• dull
• feeble
• low
• poor
• quiet
• small
• thin