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Strained   /streɪnd/   Listen
verb
Strain  v. t.  (past & past part. strained; pres. part. straining)  
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."
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." "They strain their warbling throats To welcome in the spring."
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."
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."
7.
To squeeze; to press closely. "Evander with a close embrace Strained his departing friend."
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." "The quality of mercy is not strained."
9.
To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation. "Note, if your lady strain his entertainment."
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.


Strain  v. i.  
1.
To make violent efforts. "Straining with too weak a wing." "To build his fortune I will strain a little."
2.
To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil.


adjective
Strained  adj.  
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.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Strained" Quotes from Famous Books



... you're ill, after all!" Anstice was genuinely concerned; and Sir Richard's strained features relaxed ...
— Afterwards • Kathlyn Rhodes
... she was well and happy, was she good for much more on the next, and her jealous guardians allowed her to see no one but soft, fondling Lady Temple, who insisted on a relationship (through Rachel), and whose tender pensive quietness could not fail to be refreshment to the strained spirits, and wearied physical powers, and who better than anybody could talk of the Colonel, nay, who could understand, and even help Ermine herself to understand, that these ever-welling tears came from a source by no means akin ...
— The Clever Woman of the Family • Charlotte M. Yonge
... exist in Degas, and even his portraits are composed from drawings and notes. About midnight Catulle Mendès will drop in, when he has corrected his proofs. He will come with his fine paradoxes and his strained eloquence. He will lean towards you, he will take you by the arm, and his presence is a nervous pleasure. And when the café is closed, when the last bock has been drunk, we shall walk about the great ...
— Confessions of a Young Man • George Moore
... forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a learned religious scholar referred to commonly as the Supreme Leader who, according to the constitution, is accountable only to the Assembly of Experts. US-Iranian relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf ...
— The 2008 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency.
... hears, far, very far away, the first words of his play, rising, like a flock of frightened birds, in the silence and immensity of the theatre. A terrible moment! Where should he go? What would become of him? Should he remain there leaning against a post, with ears strained and a feeling of tightness at his heart; to encourage the actors when he was so in need of encouragement himself? He prefers to confront the danger face to face, and he glides through a little door ...
— The Nabob, Vol. 2 (of 2) • Alphonse Daudet


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