strained

adjective

ˈstrānd 

1

: done or produced with excessive effort

2

: pushed by antagonism near to open conflict

strained relations

Synonyms

• affected
• artificial
• assumed
• bogus
• contrived
• factitious
• fake
• false
• feigned
• forced
• mechanical
• mock
• phony
• phoney
• plastic
• pretended
• pseudo
• put-on
• sham
• simulated
• spurious
• unnatural

Examples of strained in a Sentence

He made a strained attempt at being polite.

I took the complaint manager's strained smile to mean I wasn't a welcome sight.

Recent Examples on the Web

The earliest use cases have shown up where human labor is most strained and speed is a competitive edge, support desks, sales pipelines, email inboxes and even the marketing office where agentic marketplaces like Enso offer an entire team’s worth of agentic replacements. —Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025

The All-Star pitcher, who’s coming back from a strained left hamstring, threw 55 pitches between Saturday’s outing in the Arizona Complex League and an extra session in the bullpen. —Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 16 June 2025

Tehran's densely populated urban centers and strained infrastructure make the city especially vulnerable to continued attacks, heightening fear and instability. —Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025

The relationship between the man and Nick is strained, with accusations of jealousy fueling the conflict. —Ashley Vega, People.com, 15 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for strained

• abstained
• arraigned
• attained
• bloodstained
• campaigned
• complained
• constrained
• contained
• curtained
• detained
• disdained
• distrained

Kids Definition

strained

adjective

ˈstrānd 

1

: not easy or natural : forced

a strained smile

2

: brought close to war

strained relations between countries