Adjacent Words

Strained definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STRAINED, pp. Stretched; violently exerted; filtered.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: lacking natural ease; "a labored style of debating" [syn: labored, laboured, strained]
2: showing signs of mental and emotional tension; "her voice was strained as she asked the question"
3: lacking spontaneity; not natural; "a constrained smile"; "forced heartiness"; "a strained smile" [syn: constrained, forced, strained]
4: struggling for effect; "agonistic poses" [syn: agonistic, strained]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: circa 1542 1. done or produced with excessive effort 2. pushed by antagonism near to open conflict <strained relations>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 constrained, forced, artificial. 2 (of a relationship) mutually distrustful or tense. 3 (of an interpretation) involving an unreasonable assumption; far-fetched, laboured.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strain Strain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Strained; p. pr. & vb. n. Straining.] [OF. estraindre, estreindre, F. ['e]treindre, L. stringere to draw or bind tight; probably akin to Gr. ? a halter, ? that which is squeezwd out, a drop, or perhaps to E. strike. Cf. Strangle, Strike, Constrain, District, Strait, a. Stress, Strict, Stringent.] 1. To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument. ``To strain his fetters with a stricter care.'' --Dryden. 2. (Mech.) To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it. 3. To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously. He sweats, Strains his young nerves. --Shak. They strain their warbling throats To welcome in the spring. --Dryden. 4. To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in order to convict an accused person. There can be no other meaning in this expression, however some may pretend to strain it. --Swift. 5. To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship. 6. To injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as, to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to strain a muscle. Prudes decayed about may track, Strain their necks with looking back. --Swift. 7. To squeeze; to press closely. Evander with a close embrace Strained his departing friend. --Dryden. 8. To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth Is forced and strained. --Denham. The quality of mercy is not strained. --Shak. 9. To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation. Note, if your lady strain his entertainment. --Shak. 10. To press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth. To strain a point, to make a special effort; especially, to do a degree of violence to some principle or to one's own feelings. To strain courtesy, to go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others; -- often used ironically. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strained Strained, a. 1. Subjected to great or excessive tension; wrenched; weakened; as, strained relations between old friends. 2. Done or produced with straining or excessive effort; as, his wit was strained.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If someone's appearance, voice, or behaviour is strained, they seem worried and nervous. Gil sensed something wrong from her father's strained voice... ? relaxed ADJ 2. If relations between people are strained, those people do not like or trust each other. ...a period of strained relations between the prime minister and his deputy. ADJ

Moby Thesaurus

Herculean, agitated, all-overish, anxious, anxioused up, apprehensive, arduous, artificial, awkward, backbreaking, biased, bothered, burdensome, chill, chilly, cold, concerned, cooked, cool, crushing, difficult, disaccordant, disquieted, distant, disturbed, doctored, dragged out, drawn, drawn out, effortful, elongated, extended, farfetched, fearful, forced, foreboding, frosty, garbled, grueling, hard-earned, hard-fought, heavy, hefty, icy, improbable, in a pucker, in a stew, incompatible, inhospitable, inimical, insincere, killing, labored, laborious, lengthened, misgiving, misquoted, misrepresented, nervous, on tenterhooks, onerous, operose, oppressive, out-of-the-way, overanxious, overapprehensive, painful, perturbed, perverted, prolongated, prolonged, protracted, pulled, punishing, put-on, quite another thing, remote, self-conscious, slanted, solicitous, something else again, spun out, stiff, straggling, strenuous, stretched, stretched out, stretched tight, strung out, suspenseful, taut, tense, tight, toilsome, tortured, tough, troubled, troublesome, twisted, unamiable, unamicable, uncomfortable, uncordial, under a strain, uneasy, unfriendly, ungenial, unharmonious, unnatural, unrelaxed, unsociable, uphill, uptight, wearisome, zealous