I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a strain of a virus (= one type of it )
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Doctors fear that a new strain of the virus will appear.
a strained/tense atmosphere (= not relaxed )
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As soon as I went in, I was aware of the tense atmosphere in the room.
bear the strain/pressure
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Mark couldn’t bear the pressure of the job any longer.
buckle under the pressure/strain/weight
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A weaker person would have buckled under the weight of criticism.
eye strain
hamstring injury/problem/strain etc
intolerable burden/strain/pressure
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Caring for an elderly relative can become an intolerable burden.
pull/strain a muscle (= injure it )
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He pulled a muscle in his calf.
repetitive strain injury
strain/stretch credulity (= seem very difficult to believe )
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It strained credulity to believe that a nuclear war would not lead to the destruction of the planet.
stresses and strains (= a lot of different worries that are caused by something )
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the stresses and strains of everyday life
undue pressure/stress/strain etc
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Exercise gently and avoid putting yourself under undue strain.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
considerable
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I had no time to feel sorry for him though because I was under considerable strain myself.
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Manipulating this much information puts a considerable strain on the processor's memory and gives you a storage problem to boot!
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Should the pill prove too bitter, it will add considerable strain to already tense east-west relations.
different
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Protoplasts from different strains of plant have been joined, giving rise to a completely new variety blending characteristics from each parent.
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As wheat cultivation developed and different strains of wheat became avail-able, the balance tipped away from rye.
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Apparently, different strains of the bacterium produce different toxins which are active against a wide range of insects.
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Knowing how the bacterium varies its outer coat can help scientists prepare vaccines to combat different strains .
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These represent either two 16S rDNA genes in Nasonia Wolbachia or infection by two different bacterial strains .
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Sourdough yeast, for instance, is a different strain from other bread yeasts, which accounts for its unique flavor.
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Some genetically different strains of rats, for example, differ in their ability to learn to run through mazes.
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By planting a different , male-fertile strain among it, the breeders can collect hybrid seed.
emotional
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Leaving children behind may put an emotional strain on the family.
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She cited its rigorous program and emotional strain .
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I am under such a constant mental and emotional strain .
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No matter how partners parent, children introduce the kind of emotional strain that can shatter old harmonies and certainties.
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This was usually a person undergoing great emotional strain , such as a girl experiencing a particularly traumatic puberty.
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Self-victimisation usually occurs when one can not handle the emotional strain that goes with a relationship conflict. 17.
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This pantomime went on for some time and, inevitably, the emotional strain brought on a resurgence of his symptoms.
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You must not underestimate how much practical, physical and emotional strain this situation creates for you.
financial
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The financial strain upon the Danzigers came from other directions too.
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The financial strain of the earlier primary elections means there will not be a television-advertising blitz in California.
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Evidence shows that some residential projects are coming under financial strain as money and clients dry up.
great
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She could tell there was some great strain in him, just from the way he held himself.
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This was usually a person undergoing great emotional strain , such as a girl experiencing a particularly traumatic puberty.
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For Hammam, running a club with gates dipping below 5,000 has been a great strain .
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Advances in commerce and the use of money were placing great strains on the rice-based economy.
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The great strain for married couples in modernity is the absurdly high expectation of the marriage bond.
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Despite the beauty of Lear's plates, the young artist felt his work for Gould a great strain .
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Certainly the Bevanites could claim that rearmament was imposing too great a strain on the economy.
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In conformity with the greater strain placed on them, the forequarters show a less angled system for support and braking.
intolerable
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To accept them all would place an intolerable strain on her health, but she rarely fails to help a charity.
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The fund's other trustees had left and he was under an intolerable strain , working more than 12 hours a day.
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Suddenly they gave under the intolerable strain , ripped free from their mountings and crashed to the ground.
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Is your cabinet under an intolerable strain .
mutant
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One of the most remarkable observations concerning the mutant strain was the fact that it appeared very little affected by this mutation.
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If a mutant strain appears that eschews recombination, it proves to be especially susceptible to damage by ultraviolet light.
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Transcript/srRNA hybridization signal ratios were compared for the wild-type and mutant strains .
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The mutant strain appeared in the south of Shetland, just as the council approved the scheme for another year.
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Hence, there was an increase in the number of mitochondrial genomes per nuclear genome in the mutant strain .
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The possible implications of these results on the mutant strain phenotype are discussed.
nervous
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It could not be true that nervous strain made you lose weight.
new
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Growing in the wild, plants related to our cultivated food crops provide new genetic strains .
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Scientists found the new strain in an infant boy after he underwent heart surgery.
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Such techniques can greatly accelerate the development and propagation of new and uniform strains and varieties of plant.
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At the end of 400 generations, the E. coli bacteria had bred new strains of itself with slightly different genes.
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The long-term prospects are also good-the new strain appears to be stable and to stay permanently on teeth.
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The outbreak was eventually traced to a new strain of E. coli on hamburger meat.
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Clinical trials start this year and Hillman is confident that they will confirm the safety and effectiveness of the new strain .
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Over there is our herb garden, and here are some fruit trees, from which we are cultivating a new strain .
resistant
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Long-term use has led to the growth of resistant strains .
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As drugs kill off the virus most susceptible to them, they leave behind the more resistant strains .
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The most effective destroyers of drugs are ordinary enzymes made in huge amounts by resistant strains .
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The risk of resistant strains of bacteria developing through complacent use of medicated feeds is high.
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More to the point, as resistant strains emerge, the greater becomes our need for new antibiotics to cure sick people.
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Whenever possible, patients who do not respond to antibiotics should be screened for resistant strains .
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The first resistant strain was found within a year of its use and soon spread.
severe
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Even if you have the cash, paying it over could be a severe strain on your resources.
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Aside from the policy of confronting union power, other aspects of the Selsdon programme were under severe strain by 1972.
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Both institutions claim to be under severe strain - although both are also busy planning new extensions.
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The additional cost of repairs in mid-Ulster and central Belfast will put severe strain on the Northern Ireland Office budget.
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The system is under severe strain .
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Its rapid expansion is causing severe strains on its current buildings on Corstorphine Hill.
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It is also likely that a veto would produce severe strains in the relationship between Edinburgh and London.
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The crisis is putting severe strain on the health service.
undue
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In other words you are putting undue strain on your machine.
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This exercise encourages suppleness in the spine without undue strain on the body.
■ NOUN
energy
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Experimental determinations of the form of the strain energy function have led to many proposals of its nature.
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Small earthquakes occur continually but relieve only a negligible portion of the accumulated strain energy .
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The kinetic energy , or energy of motion, of the ship has been exchanged for strain energy in the rope.
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Thus a crack two microns deep releases four times as much strain energy as one one micron deep and so on.
eye
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The colour graphics are reasonable and quite large so you will have no problems with eye strain .
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As she describes the irritating eye strain , Estrada laughs self consciously.
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VDUs are suspected by some of causing eye strain , postural problems and even of spreading harmful radiation across the room.
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Headache from the inability to focus the eyes rapidly enough, from eye strain .
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Unfortunately, though comprehensive on training, it said nothing about eye strain !
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If you develop eye strain it might be because you are reading too close to the printed page.
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But many find they help to maintain alertness and reduce headaches and eye strain from close work.
groin
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Argyle player-manager Shilton ruled himself out of the hiding-to-nothing trip with a groin strain .
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He was sidelined by a groin strain throughout much of training camp but was ready to play by opening night.
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Ally Mauchlen, substituted on Saturday with a groin strain , is also struggling to make it.
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First, there was the groin strain that put him on the disabled list from April 28-May 12.
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Paul Bodin's still receiving treatment for his groin strain .
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The 30-year-old Warwickshire captain was the selectors' choice after Lewis broke down with a groin strain .
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He has been advised that rest is the only remedy for a recurring groin strain .
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He could be joined by Steve Whitton, back after a groin strain .
hamstring
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Much depends on whether Neil Fairbrother is fit following a hamstring strain .
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He faces a fitness test today on the hamstring strain that has kept him out for two matches.
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Parker has not played in United's last five matches after picking up a hamstring strain on March 14.
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Liverpool give John Barnes only an even-money chance of recovering from his hamstring strain .
muscle
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Warming up Before you begin, take time to do the leg stretches overleaf which will help prevent any muscle strain .
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We are, literally, a masterpiece of balance. Muscle strains and spasms are inevitable, though.
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Hill has ended his last three games in agony since he first suffered the muscle strain at Ipswich earlier this month.
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After missing the first Test because of a muscle strain , Gillespie now has 18 wickets in the series.
■ VERB
bear
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Inevitably it is women, as housewives particularly, who bear the strain of this.
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The rope is strong, capable of bearing a strain of three tons.
break
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Equivalent plasterboards break under the strain .
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Ropes broke under strain , or were worn through by prolonged use.
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If you clear them from the surface regularly, the net will not break under the strain .
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His health broke down under the strain of overwork, and he returned to Ortona in 1869 to convalesce.
buckle
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Perhaps his memory, like Henry's, was buckling under the strain of being forty.
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No wonder their marriage had buckled beneath the strain !
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Does the amp respond or does it buckle under the strain ?
cause
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Failure of the chain links is called scission and it can be caused not only by strain but also by chemical means.
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The carrying no longer caused a strain , and his right hand could hold the pen unencumbered by other duties.
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Its rapid expansion is causing severe strains on its current buildings on Corstorphine Hill.
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However, sleeping with just your head on the pillow can cause neck strain .
collapse
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If it were otherwise the court system would simply collapse under the strain .
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His knees were wobbling as if they might collapse under the strain of holding his body upright.
crack
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One of the professional golfers had cracked under the strain yesterday.
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The ruling Gaullists and the Communists alike were in danger of cracking under the strain of the May Events.
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Then I sow one of my colleagues die from a heart attack and two others crack up under the strain .
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This concrete path is cracking up under the strain of thousands of paws padding over it.
ease
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Ember twisted his head to ease the strain in his neck.
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Western teaches a Santa leg lift to ease the strain .
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She was pushing his body to the limits of its endurance to divert and ease the strain on his spirit.
feel
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They have accentuated the inequalities of provision, with rural areas in the remoter mountains feeling the most strain .
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Everyone could feel the abnormal strains that were now racking the monied world.
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But even then they felt some strain .
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They believe more and more young people could be feeling the strain .
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The race was run at a tremendous pace, and Foinavon was soon feeling the strain .
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Even the guides solely dedicated un shopping are feeling the strain .
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It is clear that all solicitors involved in litigation are feeling the strain , though most maintain that the changes are positive.
hear
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Over the relay system Lucy could hear the filtered strains of Ain't Misbehavin'.
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As you approach the hotel ballroom, you begin to hear the faint strains of a Mariachi band.
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You could hear the strain in his voice.
impose
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Obviously this would impose a significant strain on the Exchequer.
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This expansion has imposed a strain on the control of fraud.
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Certainly the Bevanites could claim that rearmament was imposing too great a strain on the economy.
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This method imposes least strain on the interconnecting wires.
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Liberalization, however, can impose additional strain on a system.
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The events of 1982-3 imposed a much greater strain on the Constitution.
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The spate of new legislation imposes a great strain upon the smaller firm.
place
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The fact that an increasing number of women want paid employment has also placed further strain on caring arrangements.
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Occupational therapists also can modify items to make it possible to use them without placing a strain on arthritic joints.
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To accept them all would place an intolerable strain on her health, but she rarely fails to help a charity.
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The rapidly increasing urban population has placed an impossible strain on the provision of housing.
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Advances in commerce and the use of money were placing great strains on the rice-based economy.
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Though his extravagance was well rewarded, it must have placed a severe strain on the house's finances.
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The arms are straight, placing the strain on the larger groups of shoulder and back muscles.
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But it was the gruelling work schedule Kylie was now working which placed the greatest strain according to friends.
produce
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This produces a strain oscillating with the same frequency as, but out of phase with, the stress.
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Rather, poor eyesight uncorrected by glasses and harshly taxed by use may produce symptoms of strain , including headaches.
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But there were no obvious ways of producing attenuated strains of virus until a means of cultivation was established.
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The failure of animal breeders to produce a strain that can bias the gender of its offspring is glaring.
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It is also likely that a veto would produce severe strains in the relationship between Edinburgh and London.
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As welcome as these changes were, they none the less produced strains within the institution.
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The school has its own experimental farm, and has produced special strains of rice for the commune.
put
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But over the years both internal difficulties and external economic and regional pressures have put these policies under strain .
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He was hardly conscious most of the time, and I didn't want to put any more strain on him.
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Such efforts put heavy strains on the financial and human resources of the organization.
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This will help you to move in an easier way, putting less strain on your whole structure.
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The usual type of chair puts an enormous strain on the spine, back muscles and many of the internal organs.
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This can put a significant strain on resources.
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Do these tyres put an extra strain on the vehicle as they are bigger and probably heavier than Michelin 7.50 x 16.
show
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There was just that constant tiny worried frown between her brows to show the strain .
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The justices have shown signs of the strain that public attention can bring.
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That is the point at which the coalition began to show strain .
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An electrocardiogram showed right heart strain .
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Figure 2, for instance, shows the breaking strains of whiskers of two very different substances, silicon and zinc oxide.
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Colchester hit back to level at one set all and both sides were showing signs of strain .
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In repose, she showed still the strain she had been under, but it was otherwise a new Daisy.
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Stella had recovered much of her poise, and only the pallor of her face showed the strain she was under.
stand
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He waited until his stomach couldn't stand the strain any more, and rapped on the boy.
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Sadly, the underlying amateurishness of the organization could not stand the strain and the Guild disintegrated in 1888.
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Contemplating the walk back to town, I wondered if my boots would stand the strain .
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Well, if you think you could stand the strain of being part of this family, you're welcome.
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Will her voice stand the strain ?
take
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To his left three guards had taken the strain on a rope that ran tight and stretched to the building.
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That takes the strain off a phone system designed to carry voice and provides higher throughput for Internet users and telecommuters.
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Planned participation A person with impaired hearing has to take a lot more strain than people with normal hearing.
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In the meantime consumers are taking the strain .
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Almost without thinking about it you will be doing more moving around, walking faster, taking stairs without strain , and so on.
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How well is it taking the strain ?
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It has been especially adapted by her father to take the strain of the amount of money she always collects.
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High cost of taking the strain Wednesday People.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
nervous exhaustion/strain
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A week later he wrote to apologise to all six, putting his behaviour down to nervous exhaustion.
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Behind dosed doors Diana cried her eyes out with nervous exhaustion.
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It could not be true that nervous strain made you lose weight.
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Most of the others were suffering from a degree of nervous exhaustion after the long takeover struggle.
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Nor could they show her nervous exhaustion, her permanent anxiety for her loved ones, her acute worry about tomorrow.
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Their company seemed to drain me and send me into a state of nervous exhaustion after even a short while.
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This probably exacerbated his tendency to long periods of nervous exhaustion, which caused his absence from his parish while he recovered.
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Yet it s a one-joke play that teases out its central idea to the point of nervous exhaustion.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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a back strain
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A particularly hardy strain of the virus can make you ill for over a week.
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A pure-bred strain of barley is required in the production of this whisky.
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eye strain
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He could see the strain in her face as she told him what she was going through.
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He had trouble handling the strain of raising eight kids.
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She had a busy week, and she's under a lot of strain at the moment.
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The strain of managing such a huge company became too much for Anita.
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The strain was beginning to show in their friendship.
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The company wanted 110% commitment, and that put a strain on our marriage.
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The legal fight has been an enormous strain on my wife.
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The rope is capable of bearing a strain of three tons.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Argyle player-manager Shilton ruled himself out of the hiding-to-nothing trip with a groin strain .
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As she describes the irritating eye strain , Estrada laughs self consciously.
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Asthma / bronchitis claims jump 75 %; sprains / strains are 34. 6 % higher.
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Both of the positive control strains adhered strongly to HEp-2 cells.
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He is putting his body under unbelievable strain , which is fine when he is 26.
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Some had been finding work a strain and early retirement came as a relief.
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Such efforts put heavy strains on the financial and human resources of the organization.
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They also needed to determine the genetic sequence of the virus so that they could compare it with known herpes strains.
II. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
severely
▪
Relations between the two states were severely strained .
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And relations between Dublin and London have been severely strained .
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She was already twenty-one and their self-imposed tests of constraint were severely strained .
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A high-spending boom followed by bust and recession have severely strained relationships of all kinds.
■ NOUN
calf
▪
But defender Andy Barlow will be sidelined for a month after straining a calf muscle in training.
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George Williams played his first game after suffering from a strained calf muscle and quite clearly didn't have his full movement.
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At least the Clippers welcomed back Richardson, who missed two games with a strained right calf .
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The first substitution did not come until Richardson suffered a slightly strained right calf early in the fourth quarter.
credulity
▪
If anything, Letterman thinks, these women have a compulsion to reach a higher plane of conversation that strains credulity .
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It strains credulity , I know, but there were nights in those years when no man was bad-looking.
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On this page we add a post-script to the Century by straining the readers' credulity still further! 1.
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And, quite frankly, it strains the credulity of those who are asked to believe that it exists.
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To be asked to see myself as one in solidarity with first-century women strains my credulity .
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It strains credulity to think they could beat San Francisco and Dallas on the road.
ear
▪
In the brief lulls, my ears strained to catch the sound of the pigeon's soft, wheezy breathing.
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The man's pale blue eyes peered into the fog and his ears strained to catch the sound of approaching footsteps.
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Her heart thumped with excitement, her ears strained at the approach of every car.
hamstring
▪
Ten metres from the line I saw Ray, twisted to dip and strained my hamstring .
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Righthander Robert Person was scheduled to start, but a strained left hamstring sustained over the weekend could delay his spring debut.
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Bett has problems with a painful toe, and McClair strained a hamstring during a training session on Sunday.
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Karros is recovering from a strained hamstring and has yet to play in an exhibition game.
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Heat guard Eddie Jones left in the first quarter with a strained left hamstring and didn't return.
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Reed has missed the past week with a strained hamstring .
leash
▪
The shuttle stopped, trembling, as if straining at a leash .
muscle
▪
At the same time she could feel her neck muscles being strained .
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She wrapped herself around him like a clam in formation, her body one big muscle , straining .
nerve
▪
Vincent strained every nerve to turn himself into a draughtsman acceptable to the illustrated papers, and the strain showed.
relationship
▪
A high-spending boom followed by bust and recession have severely strained relationships of all kinds.
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This travel can strain family relationships .
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Troy Aikman facing interrogations about his strained relationship with Switzer.
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This strained family relationships , especially those of Committee members when unpopular decisions had to be made.
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Unlike the strained relationship between Caruso and Franz, he and Smits have become great friends.
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His attitudes and actions have further strained an already difficult relationship .
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Strain the sauce through a sieve.
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James strained his right knee playing football.
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Repairs to the roof have severely strained the school's budget.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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His frightened eyes widened, straining to live.
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Righthander Robert Person was scheduled to start, but a strained left hamstring sustained over the weekend could delay his spring debut.
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She carries a small but distinct belly, which is straining the red material of the skirt.
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Sometimes he strained his head up towards the ceiling and his mouth moved as if he were trying to shout orders.