strain

Nouns

(n) (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
(n) difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension
- she endured the stresses and strains of life
- "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger"- R.J.Samuelson
stress,
(n) a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
- she was humming an air from Beethoven
melodic line, melodic phrase, melody, tune, air, line,
(n) (psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress
- his responsibilities were a constant strain
- the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him
mental strain, nervous strain,
(n) a special variety of domesticated animals within a species
- he experimented on a particular breed of white rats
- he created a new strain of sheep
breed, stock,
(n) (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups
- a new strain of microorganisms
var., variant, form,
(n) injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain
(n) the general meaning or substance of an utterance
- although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument
tenor,
(n) an effortful attempt to attain a goal nisus, pains, striving,
(n) an intense or violent exertion straining,
(n) the act of singing
- with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates
song,

Verbs

(v) to exert much effort or energy
- straining our ears to hear
strive, reach,
(v) test the limits of
- You are trying my patience!
stress, try,
(v) use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity
- He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro
- Don't strain your mind too much
extend,
(v) separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
- sift the flour
sift, sieve,
(v) cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
- he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up
tense up, tense,
(v) become stretched or tense or taut
- the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed
- the rope strained when the weight was attached
tense,
(v) remove by passing through a filter
- filter out the impurities
filter, filter out, filtrate, separate out,
(v) rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender
- puree the vegetables for the baby
puree,
(v) alter the shape of (something) by stress
- His body was deformed by leprosy
deform, distort,

Synonyms

strive reach stress try melodic line melodic phrase melody tune air line extend mental strain nervous strain sift sieve tense up tense breed stock var. variant form filter filter out filtrate separate out tenor puree nisus pains striving deform distort straining song

Antonyms

make relaxed unlax unstrain relax unwind loosen up

Words of close approximity

strait

Strad strap straw stray

strafe strait strake strand