unstressed

[ uhn-strest ]

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.

unstressed

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of unstressed¹

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

Example Sentences

The control group of unstressed mice did not show a change, providing proof of organ dysfunction in the heat-stressed mice.

From Science Daily

Working with mice, the researchers first created four test groups: unstressed virgins, stressed virgins, unstressed mothers and stressed mothers.

From Science Daily

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

Like for me, when I'm unstressed and life is happy and going well, my body feels better, training goes well, I don't feel run-down.

From Salon

Some of her regular patients were so unstressed with stay-at-home orders that they didn’t feel the need to have remote therapy sessions.

From Washington Post

Related Words

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