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   strain

   /strān/

   verb

   • 1. force (a part of one's body or oneself) to make a strenuous or unusually great effort: "I stopped and listened, straining my ears for any sound"
   • ▪ make a strenuous and continuous effort: "his voice was so quiet that I had to strain to hear it" Similar strugglelabortoilmake a supreme effortmake every effortspare no effortstrain every nervetry very hardstrivebreak one's backpush/drive oneself to the limitdo one's bestinformal:pull out all the stopsgo all outgive it one's allbend/lean over backwardsgive it one's best shotbust a gutbreak one's neckdo one's damnedestkill oneselfgo for the doctor
   • ▪ injure (a limb, muscle, or organ) by overexerting it or twisting it awkwardly: "on cold days you are more likely to strain a muscle" Similar injurehurtdamageimpairpullwrenchteartwistsprainrickcrick
   • ▪ make severe or excessive demands on: "he strained her tolerance to the limit" Similar overtaxoverworkoverburdenoverextendoverreachovertaskmake too many demands onrun/work oneself into the groundexert excessivelydrive too farexert to the limitpush to the limitexhaustwear outfatiguetiretaxoverdo itwork too hardinformal:knackerknock oneself out
   • ▪ pull or push forcibly at something: "the bear strained at the chain around its neck" Similar pulltugheavehauljerkpushinformal:yank
   • ▪ stretch (something) tightly: "the barbed wire fence was strained to posts six feet high"
   • ▪ embrace (someone) tightly: archaic "she strained the infant to her bosom again"
   • 2. pour (a mainly liquid substance) through a porous or perforated device or material in order to separate out any solid matter: "strain the custard into a bowl"
   • ▪ cause liquid to drain off (food that has been boiled, soaked, or canned) by pouring through a perforated device: "she turned to the sink to strain the noodles" Similar sievesiftfilterscreenriddleseparatepercolateleachrare:filtrategriddle
   • ▪ drain off (liquid) by straining: "strain off the surplus fat" Similar sievesiftfilterscreenriddleseparatepercolateleachrare:filtrategriddle

   noun

   • 1. a force tending to pull or stretch something to an extreme or damaging degree: "the usual type of chair puts an enormous strain on the spine" Similar tensiontightnesstautnesssheardistensionrare:tensity
   • ▪ an injury to a part of the body caused by overexertion or twisting a muscle awkwardly: "he has a slight groin strain" Similar injurysprainwrenchtwistrick
   • ▪ the magnitude of a deformation, equal to the change in the dimension of a deformed object divided by its original dimension.
   • 2. a severe or excessive demand on the strength, resources, or abilities of someone or something: "the accusations put a strain on relations between the two countries" Similar pressuredemandsburdensexertionsstresstensioninformal:hassle
   • ▪ a state of tension or exhaustion resulting from severe demands on one's strength or resources: "the telltale signs of nervous strain" Similar stresstensionnervous tensionanxietyexhaustionfatiguetirednesswearinesspressure of workoverworkduressOpposite relaxation
   • 3. the sound of a piece of music as it is played or performed: "through the open windows came the strains of a hurdy-gurdy playing in the street" Similar soundmusicmelodytuneairsong

   Word Origin Middle English (as a verb): from Old French estreindre, from Latin stringere ‘draw tight’. Current senses of the noun arose in the mid 16th century.

   Derivatives

   • 1. strainable adjective

   Scrabble Points: 6

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