v. 1 stretch, force, tax, overtax, burden, overburden, overwork, push; exceed, surpass His story that a bushy-haired intruder had shot her strained the jury's credulity 2 push, pull, tug, heave, stretch, twist, wrench, struggle As he strained at his bonds the rope cut more deeply into his wrists 3 injure, hurt, harm, impair, damage, overwork, tax, pull, tear, twist, wrench I strained my back lifting that box of books 4 stretch, crane, twist; try (hard), struggle, strive, labour, toil, push, make an effort, exert oneself She strained to catch a glimpse of the prince They strained to hear every word. 5 filter, sift, drain, screen, sieve; winnow, draw off, separate; purify, seep, percolate Strain the soup to remove the bones Strain the dregs from the wine. The water is then strained through sand.
n. 6 sprain, injury, damage, harm, wrench Strains often hurt more than broken bones 7 anxiety, worry; effort, exertion, stress, tension, pressure, burden; tax, demand, obligation The strain began to tell on all of us Another rope was needed to relieve the strain on the first. This advertising budget will put a great strain on our resources. 8 Often, strains. air, melody, tune, song, sound, music In the distance I made out the faint strains of skirling bagpipes 9 tenor, tone, drift, inclination, tendency, quality, spirit, mood, humour, character, complexion, cast, impression, thread, vein, theme I detected a mellowing strain in her letters