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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Pressure \Pres"sure\ (?; 138), noun [OF., fr. L. pressura, fr. premere. See 4th {Press}.]
1. The act of pressing, or the condition of being pressed; compression; a squeezing; a crushing; as, a pressure of the hand.
2. 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.
Where the pressure of danger was not felt. --Macaulay.
3. Affliction; distress; grievance.
My people's pressures are grievous. --Eikon Basilike.
In the midst of his great troubles and pressures. --Atterbury.
4. Urgency; as, the pressure of business.
5. Impression; stamp; character impressed.
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past. --Shak.
6. (Mech.) 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 amount upon a unit's area.
7. Electro-motive force. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{Atmospheric pressure}, {Center of pressure}, etc. See under {Atmospheric}, {Center}, etc.
{Back pressure} (Steam engine), pressure which resists the motion of the piston, as the pressure of exhaust steam which does not find free outlet.
{Fluid pressure}, pressure like that exerted by a fluid. It is a thrust which is normal and equally intense in all directions around a point. --Rankine.
{Pressure gauge}, a gauge for indicating fluid pressure; a manometer.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
pressure
noun
1: the force applied to a unit area of surface; measured in pascals (SI unit) or in dynes (cgs unit); "the compressed gas exerts an increased pressure" [syn: {pressure level}, {force per unit area}]
2: a force that compels; "the public brought pressure to bear on the government"
3: the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure; "he gave the button a press"; "he used pressure to stop the bleeding"; "at the pressing of a button" [syn: {press}, {pressing}]
4: the state of urgently demanding notice or attention; "the press of business matters" [syn: {imperativeness}, {insistence}, {insistency}, {press}]
5: the somatic sensation of pressure; "the sensitivity of his skin to pressure and temperature was normal" [syn: {pressure sensation}]
6: an oppressive condition of physical or mental or social or economic distress
verb
1: to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means :"She forced him to take a job in the city"; "He squeezed her for information" [syn: {coerce}, {hale}, {squeeze}, {force}]
2: exert pressure on someone through threats [syn: {blackmail}, {blackjack}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
297 Moby Thesaurus words for "pressure": abetment, adverse circumstances, adversity, advocate, affliction, aggravation, albatross, annoyance, apply pressure, argumentum baculinum, ascendancy, authority, bale, bear against, bear down on, bear down upon, bear hard upon, bearing, beset, besiege, blandish, blandishment, blight, boost, bug, bummer, bump, bunt, burden, burdening, burthen, butt, buttonhole, buttonholing, cajole, cajolement, cajolery, call on, call upon, care, caressing, cargo, case of need, charge, charging, charisma, charm, clamping, clamping down, clout, clutch, coax, coaxing, coerce, coercion, compel, compression, compulsion, consequence, constrain, constraint, constraints, control, credit, crisis, cross, crunch, crush, crushing, cumber, cumbrance, curse, deadweight, demand, demandingness, demands, difficulties, difficulty, dig, dire necessity, distress, dominance, domination, downer, drag, drive, dun, dunning, duress, effect, emergency, eminence, enchantment, encouragement, encumbrance, esteem, exert pressure, exhort, exigence, exigencies, exigency, favor, feeling, fingering, force, freight, friction, frottage, goading, good feeling, greatness, handicap, handling, hard knocks, hard life, hard lot, hardcase, hardship, head, high pressure, high-pressure, hold, hustle, immediacy, impel, imperative, imperativeness, importance, importunacy, importunateness, importune, importunity, impulse, impulsion, incidental power, incubus, incumbency, inducement, influence, influentiality, influentialness, insinuation, insist, insist on, insist upon, insistence, instance, intimidate, intimidation, irritation, jab, jawbone, jog, joggle, jolt, jostle, lading, leadership, lean on, leverage, load, loading, lobby, magnetism, make, manipulation, mastery, matter of necessity, mental strain, millstone, moment, nag, nag at, nagging, needling, nervous strain, nervous tension, nip, nudge, oppression, overload, overtaxing, overweighting, palpation, persistence, personality, persuade, persuasion, pertinaciousness, pertinacity, pester, pestering, petting, pinch, plague, plaguing, plead with, plight, ply, plying, poke, potency, power, precedence, predicament, predominance, preponderance, press, pressing, pressingness, prestige, prevail on, prevail upon, pricking, priority, problems, prod, prodding, prominence, punch, purchase, push, put pressure on, rank, rash impulse, recommend, reign, repute, require, rigor, rubbing, rule, rush, saddling, say, sea of troubles, seniority, shove, soft-soap, spurring, squeeze, squeezing, stature, strain, straits, strength, stress, stress and strain, stress of life, stroking, strong-arm tactics, suasion, subtle influence, suggestion, superincumbency, supremacy, surcharge, sway, sweet-talk, tautness, taxing, tease, teasing, tenseness, tension, the big stick, the bludgeon, the club, the jackboot, the mailed fist, the strong arm, the sword, thrust, tightening, torque, torsion, touching, trial, tribulation, trouble, troubles, tweak, upper hand, urge, urgency, urgent need, urging, vale of tears, vexation, vicissitude, violence, weight, weightiness, wheedle, wheedling, whip hand, work on
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