Synonyms of pressing

pressing 1 of 3

adjective

ˈpre-siŋ 

as in urgent

needing immediate attention

she had pressing business on the other side of town

Synonyms & Similar Words

• urgent
• acute
• critical
• crying
• emergent
• intense
• burning
• compelling
• dire
• imperative
• importunate
• desperate
• insistent
• exigent
• serious
• instant
• overriding
• immediate
• clamant
• demanding
• imperious
• crucial
• extreme
• dangerous
• necessitous
• hazardous
• life-and-death
• severe
• vital
• life-or-death
• explosive
• precarious
• grave
• perilous
• unstable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• minor
• incidental
• trivial
• unimportant
• negligible
• low-pressure
• noncritical
• nonurgent
• stable
• safe
• nonthreatening

pressing

2 of 3

verb (1)

present participle of press

as in seizing

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right

the fleeing bank robber pressed a nearby taxi into service as a getaway car

Synonyms & Similar Words

• seizing
• grabbing
• confiscating
• occupying
• converting
• usurping
• stealing
• preempting
• claiming
• invading
• annexing
• commandeering
• appropriating
• pirating
• snatching
• arrogating
• taking over
• assuming
• attaching
• expropriating
• looting
• grasping
• encroaching
• preoccupying
• sequestering
• repossessing
• impounding
• pillaging
• wrenching
• despoiling
• collaring
• trespassing
• infringing
• wresting
• misusing
• misapplying
• peculating
• embezzling
• misappropriating

pressing

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of press

1

as in shoving

to push steadily against with some force

an old doorbell that requires you to press the button hard

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoving
• compressing
• squeezing
• punching
• depressing
• bearing (down on)
• weighing (on or upon)
• forcing
• mashing
• pressuring
• squashing
• thrusting
• squishing
• jamming
• compelling
• squooshing
• crushing
• propelling
• muscling
• wedging
• leaning (on or against)
• compacting
• driving
• packing
• constricting
• condensing
• wringing
• contracting
• scrunching
• cramming
• stuffing
• jam-packing

2

as in squeezing

to apply external pressure on so as to force out the juice or contents of

my family will only drink juice from freshly pressed oranges

Synonyms & Similar Words

• squeezing
• mashing
• crushing
• expressing
• extracting
• reaming
• extruding
• pulping
• puréeing
• pureeing

3

as in huddling

to gather into a closely packed group

everyone pressed around me to see the pictures

Synonyms & Similar Words

• huddling
• crowding
• piling
• bunching
• assembling
• clustering
• surrounding
• swarming
• converging
• flocking
• concentrating
• hugging
• thronging
• collecting
• convening
• herding
• encircling
• congregating
• foregathering
• conglomerating
• concentering
• forgathering
• mobbing
• embracing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• splitting (up)
• dispersing
• breaking up
• disbanding

4

as in pushing

to force one's way

we continued to press deeper and deeper into the tangled rain forest

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pushing
• squeezing
• shoving
• jamming
• crashing
• jostling
• elbowing
• shouldering
• bulldozing
• boring
• thrusting
• muscling
• bulling
• ramming

5

as in forcing

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure

a manager pressed by a business crisis to return from his vacation ahead of schedule

Synonyms & Similar Words

• forcing
• coercing
• compelling
• obliging
• obligating
• driving
• pressuring
• constraining
• impressing
• dragooning
• making
• muscling
• impelling
• blackmailing
• intimidating
• sandbagging
• blackjacking
• bullying
• dragging
• threatening
• browbeating
• twisting one's arm
• bulldozing
• cowing
• hectoring
• badgering
• terrorizing
• hounding
• shaming
• menacing
• harassing
• high-pressuring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• letting
• permitting
• allowing
• moving
• talking (into)
• arguing
• inducing
• satisfying
• winning (over)
• prevailing (on or upon)
• persuading
• convincing

6

as in urging

to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action

pressed us to go with them to the school board meeting

Synonyms & Similar Words

• urging
• encouraging
• nudging
• prompting
• pushing
• prodding
• spurring
• exhorting
• goading
• coaxing
• egging (on)
• propelling
• stimulating
• driving
• hurrying
• pressuring
• imploring
• rushing
• provoking
• beseeching
• importuning
• hustling
• cajoling
• wheedling
• nagging
• fomenting
• stirring (up)
• needling
• inciting
• blandishing
• adjuring
• instigating
• soft-soaping
• high-pressuring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• discouraging
• deterring
• checking
• restraining
• braking
• dissuading
• curbing
• inhibiting
• constraining
• holding back

7

as in highlighting

to indicate the importance of by centering attention on

an office e-mail that presses the need for greater vigilance concerning building security

Synonyms & Similar Words

• highlighting
• emphasizing
• stressing
• featuring
• punctuating
• identifying
• focusing
• pointing (up)
• accentuating
• foregrounding
• focussing
• accenting
• illuminating
• playing up
• promoting
• bearing down on
• making much of
• pinpointing
• publicizing
• advertising
• spotlighting
• plugging
• boosting
• overplaying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• playing down
• minimizing
• toning (down)
• de-emphasizing
• understating
• discounting
• disparaging
• belittling
• underemphasizing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pressing

Adjective

The more pressing concern was the downturn in the art market. —Sam Knight, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025

By all means, Trump had good reason to fire a BLS commissioner who failed to solve the bureau’s most pressing problem. —Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025

Verb

The Dishwasher Is Starting to Rust Rust is never a good sign, but a few specks of rust on the outside of the dishwasher might not be a pressing issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. —Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Mar. 2025

Those two pressing matters have put talks with IndyCar for a 2026 event on pause as the promoters wait to see if Mexico City has an appetite and ability to afford multiple racing series. —Jenna Fryer, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2025