strained Hear it!

strained definition

strained (strānd)

adjective

not natural or relaxed; forced

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

strained Synonyms

strained

modif.

forced, constrained, tense; see difficult 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

strained Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • increasingly: Relations between the band members were becoming increasingly strained.

Infinitive complement

  • see: Rubbing his hand on the glass, he strained to see what type of creature made such a noise.

Modifies a noun

  • ligament: I strained knee ligaments against my old club, Hinckley United, at the end of January.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: However, the relationship between the two nations had become strained in 1996 due to outside pressure from China.
strained usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"strained." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/strained>

APA Style

strained. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/strained

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