1. To exert much effort or energy
   "straining our ears to hear";
   - strive, reach
    
2. Use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity
   "Don't strain your mind too much";
   - extend
    
3. Test the limits of
   "You are straining my patience!";
   - try, stress
    
4. Separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
   "strain the flour";
   - sift, sieve
    
5. Remove by passing through a filter
   "strain out the impurities";
   - filter, filtrate, filter out
    
6. (cooking) rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender
   "strain the vegetables for the baby";
   - puree, purée
    
7. Become stretched, tense or taut
   "the rope strained when the weight was attached";
   - tense
    
8. Cause to be tense and uneasy, nervous or anxious
   "The deadline strained everyone in the office";
   - tense, tense up
    
9. Alter the shape of (something) by stress
   "The heavy load strained the rope";
   - deform, distort
    
10. Push to the limits of capability or endurance
    "The steep climb strained even experienced hikers"; "The complex problem strained her mathematical skills";
    - challenge, tax, test

1. Difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension
   "she endured the stresses and strains of life";
   - stress
    
2. (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"; "his responsibilities were a constant nervous strain";
   - mental strain, nervous strain
    
3. An intense or violent exertion
   "The athlete felt the strain in his muscles as he lifted the heavy weight";
   - straining
    
4. (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
   "The engineer measured the strain on the bridge during peak traffic hours"
    
5. Injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain
   "The runner developed a hamstring strain during the marathon"
    
6. A succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
   "A haunting strain of melody drifted from the violin";
   - tune, melody, air, melodic line, line, melodic phrase
    
7. A special variety of domesticated animals within a species
   "he created a new strain of sheep";
   - breed, stock
    
8. (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups
   "a new strain of microorganisms";
   - form, variant
    
9. The general meaning or substance of an utterance
   "although I disagreed with him I could follow the strain of his argument";
   - tenor
    
10. The act of singing
    "with a shout and a strain they marched up to the gates";
    - song

Derived forms: strained, straining, strains

Type of: affect, afflict, animal group, apply, deformation, difficultness, difficulty, drive, effort, elbow grease [informal], employ, exertion, form, harm, hurt, injury, labor [US], labour [Brit, Cdn], meaning, music, nerves, nervousness, plough [Brit], plough on [Brit], plow [US], plow on [US], push, rub, separate, shape, substance, sweat, taxon, taxonomic category, taxonomic group, tighten, trauma, travail [literary], tug, use, utilise [Brit], utilize, variety, vocal music

Antonym: unlax [informal, rare]

Part of: species

Encyclopedia: Strain, Missouri