Thesaurus
strain
Synonyms and Antonyms of strain
1 the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended descended from a strain of Irish seafarers Synonyms birth, blood, bloodline, breeding, descent, extraction, family tree, genealogy, line, lineage, origin, parentage, pedigree, stock, strainRelated Words heredity, succession; family, house; kin, kindred, relations, relatives; raceNear Antonyms offspring; child, heir, inheritor, son, successorAntonyms issue, posterity, progeny, seed
2 a rhythmic series of musical tones arranged to give a pleasing effect the strain of an old Irish ballad rose up from the revelers downstairs Synonyms air, lay, song, strain, tune, warbleRelated Words descant (also discant); cadence, measure, meter, rhythm; ballad, ditty, hymn, lyric, madrigal
3 a very small amount detected a strain of panic in her voice when she asked if the substance was poisonous Synonyms ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, little, mite, nip, ounce, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, traceRelated Words hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit; atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap; dash, drop, pinch; part, portion, section; bite, nibble, taste; handful, scattering, smatter, smattering; dose, shot; chip, flake, fragment, shard, shiver, sliver, smithereens, splinter; shred, tatter; clipping, paring, shavingNear Antonyms abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth; volume; bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus; chunk, hunk, lump, slab
4 a number of persons or things that are grouped together because they have something in common writes mystery novels of a more sophisticated strain Synonyms breed, class, description, feather, genre, ilk, kidney, kind, like, manner, nature, order, species, strain, stripe, type, varietyRelated Words model; sample, specimen; bracket, bunch, category, division, family, grade, group, grouping, lot, persuasion, rank(s), set, suite
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strain
Synonyms and Antonyms of strain
the burden on one's emotional or mental well-being created by demands on one's time the family's constant moving is putting a real strain on the children Synonyms pressure, strain, tensionRelated Words load, weight; anxiety, concern, uneasiness, worry; aggravation, anger, annoyance, exasperation, irritation, persecution, troubleNear Antonyms comfort, consolation
strain
Synonyms and Antonyms of strain
1 to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure in order to lift something heavy, squat down and lift with your legs, or you'll strain your back Synonyms pull, rack, stretch, wrench Related Words fray, tax, weaken; damage, harm, hurt, impair, wound; batter, bruise, tear; cripple, lame, mangle, mutilate
2 to pass through a filter better strain that coffee thoroughly to get all the grounds out Synonyms filter, screen Related Words leach, percolate
3 to devote serious and sustained effort the whole department is straining to complete the project before the deadline Synonyms bang away, beaver (away), dig (away), drudge, endeavor, fag, grub, hump, hustle, moil, peg (away), plod, plow, plug, slave, slog, labor, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, travail, tug, workRelated Words apply (oneself), buckle (down), dig in, hammer (away), knuckle down, pitch in; attack, drive; essay, try; exercise, exert, overexert, overwork; eke out, grind (out), put out, scrabble, scratch; trudge, wadeNear Antonyms break, ease (up), let up, slacken; bum, chill, dally, dillydally, footle, goldbrick, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, lounge, shirk, slack (off), veg out; bask, loll, relax, repose, rest, unwind; dabble, doodle, fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang, hang about [British], mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle
4 to flow forth slowly through small openings put the cooked fruit in a cheesecloth bag and let the juice strain into a pan Synonyms bleed, ooze, percolate, seep, exude, sweat, transude, weepRelated Words dribble, drip, trickle; discharge, emit, give off, vent; emanate, flow, springNear Antonyms flood, gush, pour, stream, surge
5 to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress strained her memory but the name just wouldn't come to her Synonyms try, stretch, tax, testRelated Words demand, exact, importune, press, pressure, push; aggravate, agitate, annoy, bother, exasperate, gall, get (to), gnaw (at), grate, harass, harry, hassle, irk, irritate, nettle, pain, peeve, pester, rile, spite, vex
6 to draw tight the dog strained its leash trying to get to the cat Synonyms tighten, stretch, tauten, tenseRelated Words elongate, extend, lengthen; cinch, constrictNear Antonyms ease, relaxAntonyms loosen, slack, slacken
7 to put one's arms around and press tightly the woman tenderly strained to her breast the child that she had long ago given up for dead Synonyms bear-hug, clasp, crush, enclasp, enfold, grasp, hug, embraceRelated Words clamp, cling, cradle, grab, grip, hold; bosom, embosom, encircle, entwine, envelop, enwind; fold, lock, twine, wrap; cuddle, fondle, nestle, nuzzle, pat, pet, snuggle, stroke
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Dictionary: Definition of strain Medical Dictionary: Definition of strain Spanish Central: Translation of strain Nglish: Translation of strain for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of strain for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about strain
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