unstressed

[uhn-strest] /ʌnˈstrɛst/
adjective
1.
without stress or emphasis, as a syllable in a word.
2.
not receiving or subjected to stress, wear, etc.:
the unstressed parts of a car body.
Origin
1880-85; un-1 + stress + -ed2
Examples from the web for unstressed
  • For example, in various parts of the region they tend not to turn vowels in unstressed syllables into neutral vowels.
  • Previous research has shown that unstressed mice enjoy swimming, while stressed ones do not.
  • Past and present, sharply separated by the chapter structure, are fused in motifs and unstressed parallels.
  • He recently found that stressed rats have a stronger, more immediate immune response than unstressed animals.
  • Explain that iambic meter refers to accentual feet of an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable.
British Dictionary definitions for unstressed

unstressed

/ʌnˈstrɛst/
adjective
1.
carrying relatively little stress; unemphasized
2.
(phonetics) of, relating to, or denoting the weakest accent in a word or breath group, which in some languages, such as English or German, is also associated with a reduction in vowel quality to a centralized (i) or (a)
3.
(prosody) (of a syllable in verse) having no stress or accent