Adjective: straining strey-ning
- Taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance
"his final, straining burst of speed";
- arduous, strenuous
- An intense or violent exertion
"The athlete felt the straining in his muscles as he lifted the heavy weight";
- strain
- Excessive elaboration or subtlety, often leading to distortion of meaning
"The critic accused the author of straining in his overly complex prose";
- distortion, overrefinement, torture
- To exert much effort or energy
"straining our ears to hear";
- strive, reach
- Use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity
"Don't strain your mind too much";
- extend
- Test the limits of
"You are straining my patience!";
- try, stress
- Separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
"strain the flour";
- sift, sieve
- Remove by passing through a filter
"strain out the impurities";
- filter, filtrate, filter out
- (cooking) rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender
"strain the vegetables for the baby";
- puree, purée
- Become stretched, tense or taut
"the rope strained when the weight was attached";
- tense
- Cause to be tense and uneasy, nervous or anxious
"The deadline strained everyone in the office";
- tense, tense up
- Alter the shape of (something) by stress
"The heavy load strained the rope";
- deform, distort
- 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
Derived forms: strainings
See also: effortful
Type of: affect, afflict, apply, drive, effort, elbow grease [informal], employ, exertion, falsification, form, labor [US], labour [Brit, Cdn], misrepresentation, plough [Brit], plough on [Brit], plow [US], plow on [US], push, rub, separate, shape, sweat, tighten, travail [literary], tug, use, utilise [Brit], utilize
Antonym: unlax [informal, rare]
Encyclopedia: Straining
Strain, Missouri