[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

strain \strain\, n. see strene.
   1. race; stock; generation; descent; family.
      1913 webster

            he is of a noble strain.              --shak.
      1913 webster

            with animals and plants a cross between different
            varieties, or between individuals of the same
            variety but of another strain, gives vigor and
            fertility to the offspring.           --darwin.
      1913 webster

   2. hereditary character, quality, or disposition.
      1913 webster

            intemperance and lust breed diseases, which,
            propogated, spoil the strain of nation. --tillotson.
      1913 webster

   3. rank; a sort. "the common strain." --dryden.
      1913 webster

   4. hort. a cultural subvariety that is only slightly
      differentiated.
      webster 1913 suppl.
see also:
strene 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

strain \strain\, v. t. imp.  p. p. strained; p. pr.  vb. n.
   straining. of. estraindre, estreindre, f. 'etreindre,
   l. stringere to draw or bind tight; probably akin to gr. ? a
   halter, ? that which is squeezwd out, a drop, or perhaps to
   e. strike. cf. strangle, strike, constrain, district,
   strait, a. stress, strict, stringent.
   1. to draw with force; to extend with great effort; to
      stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a
      ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument. "to
      strain his fetters with a stricter care." --dryden.
      1913 webster

   2. mech. to act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of
      form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it.
      1913 webster

   3. to exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously.
      1913 webster

            he sweats,
            strains his young nerves.             --shak.
      1913 webster

            they strain their warbling throats
            to welcome in the spring.             --dryden.
      1913 webster

   4. to stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in
      the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in
      order to convict an accused person.
      1913 webster

            there can be no other meaning in this expression,
            however some may pretend to strain it. --swift.
      1913 webster

   5. to injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of
      force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship.
      1913 webster

   6. to injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too
      strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as,
      to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to
      strain a muscle.
      1913 webster

            prudes decayed about may track,
            strain their necks with looking back. --swift.
      1913 webster

   7. to squeeze; to press closely.
      1913 webster

            evander with a close embrace
            strained his departing friend.        --dryden.
      1913 webster

   8. to make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent
      effort; to force; to constrain.
      1913 webster

            he talks and plays with fatima, but his mirth
            is forced and strained.               --denham.
      1913 webster

            the quality of mercy is not strained. --shak.
      1913 webster

   9. to urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a
      petition or invitation.
      1913 webster

            note, if your lady strain his entertainment. --shak.
      1913 webster

   10. to press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as
       through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to
       purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by
       filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth.
       1913 webster

   to strain a point, to make a special effort; especially, to
      do a degree of violence to some principle or to one's own
      feelings.

   to strain courtesy, to go beyond what courtesy requires; to
      insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others; --
      often used ironically. --shak.
      1913 webster
see also:
strained straining strangle strike constrain district 
strait stress strict stringent to strain a point 
to strain courtesy 

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

strain \strain\ str=an, v. i.
   1. to make violent efforts. "straining with too weak a wing."
      --pope.
      1913 webster

            to build his fortune i will strain a little. --shak.
      1913 webster

   2. to percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through
      a sandy soil.
      1913 webster

[4] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

strain \strain\, n.
   1. the act of straining, or the state of being strained.
      specifically: 
      1913 webster
      a a violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or
          tension, as of the muscles; as, he lifted the weight
          with a strain; the strain upon a ship's rigging in a
          gale; also, the hurt or injury resulting; a sprain.
          1913 webster

                whether any poet of our country since
                shakespeare has exerted a greater variety of
                powers with less strain and less ostentation.
                                                  --landor.
          1913 webster

                credit is gained by custom, and seldom recovers
                a strain.                         --sir w.
                                                  temple.
          1913 webster
      b mech. physics a change of form or dimensions of a
          solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress. --rankine.
          1913 webster

   2. mus. a portion of music divided off by a double bar; a
      complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any
      rounded subdivision of a movement.
      1913 webster

            their heavenly harps a lower strain began. --dryden.
      1913 webster

   3. any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion
      of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or
      burden, of a song, poem, oration, book, etc.; theme;
      motive; manner; style; also, a course of action or
      conduct; as, he spoke in a noble strain; there was a
      strain of woe in his story; a strain of trickery appears
      in his career. "a strain of gallantry." --sir w. scott.
      1913 webster

            such take too high a strain at first. --bacon.
      1913 webster

            the genius and strain of the book of proverbs.
                                                  --tillotson.
      1913 webster

            it pilgrim's progress seems a novelty, and yet
            contains
            nothing but sound and honest gospel strains.
                                                  --bunyan.
      1913 webster

   4. turn; tendency; inborn disposition. cf. 1st strain.
      1913 webster

            because heretics have a strain of madness, he
            applied her with some corporal chastisements.
                                                  --hayward.
      1913 webster
see also:
strain 

[5] : WordNet (r) 2.0

strain
     n 1: physics deformation of a physical body under the action of
          applied forces
     2: 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.samuelson syn: stress
     3: a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she
        was humming an air from beethoven" syn: tune, melody,
         air, melodic line, line, melodic phrase
     4: 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" syn: mental strain, nervous strain
     5: 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" syn: breed, stock
     6: biology a group of organisms within a species that differ
        in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of
        microorganisms" syn: form, variant, var.
     7: a lineage or race of people syn: breed
     8: injury to a muscle often caused by overuse; results in
        swelling and pain
     9: pervading note of an utterance; "i could follow the general
        tenor of his argument" syn: tenor
     10: an effortful attempt to attain a goal syn: striving, nisus,
          pains
     11: an intense or violent exertion syn: straining
     12: the act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up
         to the gates" syn: song
     v 1: to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear"
          syn: strive, reach
     2: test the limits of; "you are trying my patience" syn: try,
         stress
     3: 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" syn: extend
     4: separate by passing through a sieve or other straining
        device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour"
        syn: sift, sieve
     5: make tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; syn: tense,
        tense up ant: relax, relax
     6: stretch or force to the limit; "strain the rope" syn: tense
     7: remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the
        impurities" syn: filter, filtrate, separate out, filter
        out
     8: rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender;
        "puree the vegetables for the baby" syn: puree
     9: alter the shape of something by stress; "his body was
        deformed by leprosy" syn: deform, distort
see also:
stress tune melody air melodic line line 
melodic phrase mental strain nervous strain breed stock 
form variant var. tenor striving 
nisus pains straining song strive 
reach try extend sift sieve 
tense tense up relax filter filtrate 
separate out filter out puree deform distort 

[6] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

671 moby thesaurus words for "strain":
   spenserian stanza, abrade, affectation, affiliation, agitation,
   aim, air, all-overs, anacrusis, ancestry, angst, animal kingdom,
   animus, antistrophe, anxiety, anxiety hysteria, anxiety neurosis,
   anxious bench, anxious concern, anxious seat, anxiousness,
   apparentation, apprehension, apprehensiveness, aptitude, aria,
   back down, balance, balk, bark, bass passage, be determined, belie,
   bent, bias, bid for, birth, bleed, blemish, blench, bloat,
   bloating, blood, bloodline, bloody, boggle, bolt, book, bourdon,
   bracket, brain fag, branch, brand, break, breaking point, breed,
   bridge, brood, burden, burn, cadence, camouflage,
   cankerworm of care, canto, cantus, care, cast, caste, category,
   chafe, character, check, chill, chilliness, chip, chorus, clan,
   clarify, class, claw, clear, coda, coldness, color,
   command of language, common ancestry, community, complexion,
   concern, concernment, consanguinity, constitution, contend for,
   continue, coolness, couplet, crack, crane, craze, culture, cut,
   damage, debate, debilitation, debility, decrassify, deliberate,
   demand, deme, demur, denomination, depurate, derivation, descant,
   descendants, descent, description, designation, determination,
   development, diathesis, direct line, disaffinity, discharge,
   disguise, disposition, disquiet, disquietude, distaff side,
   distension, distich, distill, distort, distress, disturbance,
   division, draft, drag, drag out, drain, draw, draw off, draw out,
   dread, dress up, drift, drive, eccentricity, edulcorate, effort,
   effuse, elongate, elongation, elute, embellish, embroider, emit,
   endeavor, enervation, enfeeblement, enmity, envoi, epode,
   essentialize, estate, ethnic group, evidence, exaggeration, exceed,
   excrete, exertion, exfiltrate, exposition, expression of ideas,
   extend, extension, extract, extraction, extravasate,
   extreme tension, exudate, exude, eyestrain, faintness, falsify,
   falter, family, fashion, fatigue, fear, feather, feeling for words,
   female line, fight shy of, figure, filiation, filter, filtrate,
   flinch, folderol, folk, force, foreboding, forebodingness, form,
   form of speech, fracture, fray, frazzle, fret, frost, fudge, gag,
   gall, garble, gash, genre, gens, genus, gild, give off, gloss,
   gloss over, goneness, grace of expression, grade, grain,
   grandiloquence, group, grouping, hang back, hang off, harass, harm,
   harmonic close, haul, have qualms, head, heading, heart strain,
   heave, hem and haw, heptastich, heritage, hesitate, hexastich,
   hint, hold off, house, hover, hum and haw, humor, hurt, iciness,
   idiosyncrasy, ilk, impair, impression, incise, inclination,
   incompatibility, incompatibleness, indication, individualism,
   inflate, inflation, inhospitality, inimicality, injure, injury,
   inquietude, interlude, intermezzo, introductory phrase, irk,
   jadedness, jib, kidney, kin, kind, label, labor, lacerate, languor,
   lassitude, lay, leach, leaning, lengthen, lengthen out,
   lengthening, let out, level, line, line of descent, lineage,
   literary style, lixiviate, lot, lug, maim, make, make an effort,
   make bones about, make mincemeat of, makeup, malaise, male line,
   manner, manner of speaking, mannerism, mark, mask, matriclan, maul,
   measure, melodia, melodic line, melody, mental fatigue, mental set,
   mental strain, mettle, mind, mind-set, miscite, miscolor,
   misconstrue, misdirect, misgiving, misinterpret, misquote,
   misrender, misreport, misrepresent, misstate, misuse, mode,
   mode of expression, moil, mold, monostich, mood, movement, music,
   musical phrase, musical sentence, mutilate, nation, nationality,
   nature, nervous strain, nervous tension, nervousness, note, number,
   obligation, octastich, octave, octet, ooze, order, ornament,
   ottava rima, overanxiety, overburden, overcarrying, overdevelop,
   overdistend, overdistension, overdoing, overdraw, overdrawing,
   overemphasis, overexercise, overexert, overexertion, overexpand,
   overexpansion, overexpenditure, overextend, overextension,
   overimportance, overreaching, overreaction, overstate, overstrain,
   overstraining, overstress, overstretch, overstretching, overtax,
   overtaxing, overtiredness, overuse, overwork, pain, parentage,
   part, passage, patriclan, pause, peculiarity, pedigree, pentastich,
   people, percolate, period, personal conflict, personal style,
   persuasion, perturbation, pervert, phrase, phratry, phylum, pierce,
   pigeonhole, pins and needles, plant kingdom, ponder, position,
   predicament, predilection, predisposition, preference, press,
   pressure, proclivity, produce, production, prolong, prolongate,
   prolongation, propensity, protract, protraction, pucker, pull,
   pull back, pull for, puncture, purify, push, quail, quality,
   quatrain, race, rack, rank, rating, recoil, rectify, reek, refine,
   refrain, rend, resolution, resolve, response, retreat, rhetoric,
   rhyme royal, rip, ritornello, roots, rubric, run, rupture, savage,
   scald, scorch, scotch, scrape, scratch, screen, scruple, scuff,
   section, seed, seek, seep, sense of language, separate, sept,
   septet, sestet, set, sew, sextet, shape, shilly-shally, shrink,
   shy, shy at, side, sieve, sift, sign, skin, slant, slash,
   sleepiness, slit, snapping point, society, solicitude, solo,
   solo part, song, soprano part, sort, sound, soupcon, spear side,
   species, speech community, spin out, spindle side, spirit,
   spiritualize, sprain, stab, stamp, stance fatigue, stanza,
   statement, station, status, stave, stem, stew, stick, stick at,
   stickle, stirps, stock, stop to consider, straddle the fence,
   strain at, strain every nerve, strain for, straining, strains,
   stratum, streak, stress, stress and strain, stressfulness, stretch,
   stretch out, stretching, string out, stringing out, stripe, strive,
   strive for, striving, strophe, struggle, struggle for, study,
   stumble, style, stylistic analysis, stylistics, subdivision,
   subgroup, sublimate, sublime, suborder, succession, suggestion,
   supererogation, surpass, suspense, suspicion, sweat, sweat blood,
   swell, swelling, sword side, syllable, tailpiece, tauten, tautness,
   tax, taxing, tear, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, tense,
   tenseness, tension, tercet, terza rima, tetrastich,
   the grand style, the like of, the likes of, the plain style,
   the sublime, theme, think twice about, thread, tighten, tiredness,
   titivate, title, toil, tone, torture, totem, trace, trait,
   transpire, transude, traumatize, treble, tribe, trick, trick out,
   triplet, tristich, trouble, try, try for, try hard, tug, tune,
   turn, turn of mind, tutti, tutti passage, twist, type,
   unamiability, uncordiality, understate, uneasiness, unfriendliness,
   ungeniality, unquietness, unsociability, upset, variation, variety,
   varnish, vein, verse, vestige, vexation, warp, waver, way,
   weakness, wearifulness, weariness, weep, whitewash, wince, winnow,
   withdraw, work, worry, wound, wrench, yield, zeal

Strain >> S Words
Strain, definition of term: Strain
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