| Noun | 1. | strain - (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forcesdeformation - alteration in the shape or dimensions of an object as a result of the application of stress to it | |
| 2. | strain - difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; "she endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger"- R.J.Samuelsondifficulty - a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties" | |
| 3. | strain - a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven"tucket, fanfare, flourish - (music) a short lively tune played on brass instruments; "he entered to a flourish of trumpets"; "her arrival was greeted with a rousing fanfare" glissando - a rapid series of ascending or descending notes on the musical scale roulade - (music) an elaborate run of several notes sung to one syllable music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner leitmotif, leitmotiv - a melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation (as in Wagner's operas) theme song - a melody that recurs and comes to represent a musical play or movie melodic theme, musical theme, theme, idea - (music) melodic subject of a musical composition; "the theme is announced in the first measures"; "the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it" part, voice - the melody carried by a particular voice or instrument in polyphonic music; "he tried to sing the tenor part" | |
| 4. | strain - (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"nerves, nervousness - an uneasy psychological state; "he suffered an attack of nerves" stress, tenseness, tension - (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor" | |
| 5. | strain - a special variety of domesticated animals within a species; "he experimented on a particular breed of white rats"; "he created a new strain of sheep"variety - (biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differe from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics; "varieties are frequently recognized in botany" pedigree - line of descent of a pure-bred animal species - (biology) taxonomic group whose members can interbreed | |
| 6. | strain - (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms"species - (biology) taxonomic group whose members can interbreed | |
| 7. | strain - a lineage or race of people | |
| 8. | strain - injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and painharm, hurt, injury, trauma - any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc. | |
| 9. | strain - pervading note of an utterance; "I could follow the general tenor of his argument"meaning, substance - the idea that is intended; "What is the meaning of this proverb?" purport, drift - general meaning or tenor; "caught the drift of the conversation" | |
| 10. | strain - an effortful attempt to attain a goalattempt, effort, try, endeavor, endeavour - earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try" jehad, jihad - a holy struggle or striving by a Muslim for a moral or spiritual or political goal | |
| 11. | strain - an intense or violent exertion | |
| 12. | strain - the act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates"vocal music - music that is vocalized (as contrasted with instrumental music) carol - a joyful song (usually celebrating the birth of Christ) aria - an elaborate song for solo voice | |
| Verb | 1. | strain - to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear"labor, labour, tug, push, drive - strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her doctoral thesis" | |
| 2. | strain - test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!"afflict - cause great unhappiness for; distress; "she was afflicted by the death of her parents" rack - stretch to the limits; "rack one's brains" | |
| 3. | strain - use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity; "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much"apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize - put into service; make work or employ (something) for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't make use of this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer" overextend, overstrain - strain excessively; "He overextended himself when he accepted the additional assignment" task, tax - use to the limit; "you are taxing my patience" | |
| 4. | strain - separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour"separate - divide into components or constituents; "Separate the wheat from the chaff" rice - sieve so that it becomes the consistency of rice; "rice the potatoes" riddle, screen - separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff winnow, fan - separate from chaff; "She stood there winnowing grain all day in the field" | |
| 5. | strain - make tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious;affect - act physically on; have an effect upon crick - twist the head into a strained position stretch, extend - extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body; "Stretch your legs!"; "Extend your right arm above your head" | |
| 6. | strain - stretch or force to the limit; "strain the rope"tighten - become tight or tighter; "The rope tightened" | |
| 7. | strain - remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities"separate - divide into components or constituents; "Separate the wheat from the chaff" | |
| 8. | strain - rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender; "puree the vegetables for the baby"cookery, cooking, preparation - the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife" rub - move over something with pressure; "rub my hands"; "rub oil into her skin" | |
| 9. | strain - alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy"shape, form - give a shape or form to; "shape the dough" jaundice - distort adversely; "Jealousy had jaundiced his judgment" | |