I. ˈpresiŋ, -sēŋ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English pressinge, from gerund of pressen to press
1. : an exertion of pressure or a process using pressure
requires only the pressing of a button
the pressing of apples for cider
the pressing of cheese
2. : the product of any of numerous mechanical presses: as
a. : a metal part stamped, pierced, or formed in a press
pressings for many of the most famous names in the British motor-car industry — Punch
b. : a glass or ceramic article formed by forcing a tempered clay mixture or hot glass into a mold
c.
(1) : a phonograph record made from a matrix by compression or injection molding
(2) : the whole number of records made at one time
the first pressing of her song
II. adjective
Etymology: from present participle of press (II)
1. : urgently important : critical
the pressing necessity of earning a livelihood — American Guide Series: Rhode Island
I've more pressing things to think about than girls — C.B.Kelland
a pressing demand
2. : earnest , warm
a pressing invitation
pressing attentions
Synonyms:
pressing , urgent , imperative , crying , importunate , insistent , exigent , instant can mean, in common, claiming or demanding immediate attention. pressing characterizes what makes an unavoidable claim upon one's concern as if pressure were applied
a pressing need
pressing problems
urgent is stronger than pressing , suggesting constraint or compulsion of one's attention
his voice was urgent and incisive — Elinor Wylie
an urgent seriousness underlay his words — W.H.Wright
the urgent needs of the war — T.B.Costain
urgent expenses
imperative puts stress upon the obligatory nature of the task, need, or duty that lays claim to attention
the imperative need for a more spacious home — Havelock Ellis
a remonstrance had become imperative — Samuel Butler †1902
imperative orders — Sir Winston Churchill
crying puts stress upon the extreme, often shocking, conspicuousness of the thing claiming attention
a crying need to make American cities better places in which to live and work — L.E.Cooper
a crying scandal of the times — J.T.Farrell
crying disproportion between ambition and accomplishment — W.C.Brownell
importunate stresses pertinacity in demanding, often to the point of annoyance or nagging
a thick fringe of importunate hangers-on — Claudia Cassidy
the troublesome and importunate monk — H.T.Buckle
hundreds of importunate requests to submit to the monarch — Time
insistent is not as strong as importunate; it implies, however, an insisting or an unremitting claiming on attention
the insistent friendliness of sextons — Robert Lynd
the clamor of his insistent admirers — Saxe Commins
insistent problems
exigent is close to urgent or pressing but implies more an imperative demand for action than a claim upon attention
outlasting the adverse circumstance, however exigent and oppressive — Times Literary Supplement
exigent foreign diplomats — Janet Flanner
the exigent demands of war — Allan Nevins
instant is an older form in general interchangeable with insistent , or especially urgent or importunate , but sometimes suggesting perseverance
was instant that I should continue at Oxford — A.T.Quiller-Couch
the instant need — John Buchan
down the other side of High Street he walked, his eyes instant for suggestion and opportunity — Arthur Morrison
they would teach in Sunday schools, and be instant, in season and out of season, in imparting spiritual instruction — Samuel Butler †1902