strained

adjective

ˈstrānd 

1

: done or produced with excessive effort

2

: pushed by antagonism near to open conflict

strained relations

Synonyms

• unnatural
• mock
• affected
• forced
• exaggerated
• false
• artificial
• fake
• simulated
• mechanical
• contrived
• pseudo
• assumed

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

Wednesday and Morticia finally have a breakthrough in their strained relationship, Pugsley realizes his family really does care about him. —Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025

The fed report said that agriculture conditions have remained strained but stable. —Arkansas Online, 3 Sep. 2025

After a strained and generally unfunny introduction that loosely connects The Office to the new series, The Paper takes us to Toledo and the offices of the Toledo Truth-Teller. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025

However, Singleton told Newsweek that parade pageantry won't solve the PLA's problems, including corruption, leadership purges, strained campaign logistics, and weak command and control. —Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 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