Pressure

1. A contrasting force or impulse of any kind; as, the pressure of poverty; the pressure of taxes; the pressure of motives on the mind; the pressure of civilization.
2. The action of a force against some obstacle or opposing force; a force in the nature of a thrust, distributed over a surface, often estimated with reference to the upon a unit's area.
3. Impression; stamp; character impressed.
4. Urgency; as, the pressure of business.
5. The act of pressing, or the condition of being pressed; compression; a squeezing; a crushing; as, a pressure of the hand.
6. Affliction; distress; grievance.