stress
/stʁɛs/masculine
The English phrase "stress" is translated into French as stress.
stress is a masculine noun used to refer to emotional pressure. To describe the act of applying emotional pressure to someone, you can use the verb stresser. If you want to express the idea of emphasizing a point, use the verb souligner instead.
Meaning: emotional pressure (noun)
Which one should you use?
While stress is the noun for emotional pressure, the related verb stresser is commonly used to mean "to stress someone out" or "to make someone feel stressed".
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/stʁɛs/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using stresser when you mean "to emphasize" a point. In French, stresser refers to causing anxiety. Instead, use souligner or mettre l'accent sur for emphasis.
Did you know?
- To describe the physical feeling of being stressed, French speakers often use the phrase avoir la boule au ventre, which literally means 'to have a ball in the stomach'.
- While stress is common, you will often see the term le stress described as a 'maladie du siècle' or 'disease of the century' in French sociology and health literature.
- In French, the term stress is rarely used to describe the emphasis one places on a syllable in a word, a concept English speakers call 'word stress'.
Examples in context
- David était sous stress.David was under stress.This sentence shows how to use the form stress to say someone was under stress.Tatoeba #11504307 by Amastan, translation #11501116 by Amastan
- Comment gères-tu le stress ?How do you handle stress?This sentence demonstrates asking how someone handles the form stress.Tatoeba #1688222 by sacredceltic, translation #1553494 by CK
- David a surmonté son stress.David overcame his stress.This sentence illustrates how someone can overcome the form stress.Tatoeba #11504280 by Amastan, translation #11484079 by Amastan
- Je suis sous pression.I am under pressure.
- La pression au travail est intense.The pressure at work is intense.
- Je ressens beaucoup de tension à l'approche de l'examen.I feel a lot of stress as the exam approaches.
- Arrête de te prendre la tête pour rien.Stop stressing out about nothing.
- Je me prends la tête avec mes problèmes de travail.I am stressing out about my work problems.
- Avec tous mes examens, je suis stressé comme un citron pressé.With all my exams, I am stressed like a squeezed lemon.
- Il est à cran à cause de ses problèmes familiaux.He is on edge because of his family problems.
- Je suis à cran à force de travailler sous pression.I am on edge from working under pressure.
- Je suis en mode 'burnout,' j'ai vraiment besoin de vacances.I am in 'burnout' mode, I really need a vacation.
- 28 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are talking about work at a cafe.
- LucasTu as l'air fatiguée par le stress.You look tired from the stress.
- ChloéOui, le travail est très difficile en ce moment.Yes, work is very difficult right now.
- LucasEst-ce que tu peux prendre des vacances ?Can you take a vacation?
- ChloéJe vais essayer de me reposer ce week-end.I will try to rest this weekend.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “stress” translations and entries stress, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
