Synonyms of strains

strains 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of strain

1

as in lineages

the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended

descended from a strain of Irish seafarers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lineages
• ancestries
• pedigrees
• genealogies
• origins
• families
• descents
• extractions
• blood
• stocks
• bloodlines
• births
• breedings
• lines
• family trees
• parentages
• relatives
• relations
• successions
• races
• houses
• kins
• heredities
• kindreds

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• issues
• seed
• progenies
• offspring
• children
• sons
• posterities
• successors
• heirs
• inheritors

2

as in melodies

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 & Similar Words

• melodies
• songs
• tunes
• hymns
• airs
• warbles
• lyrics
• lays
• rhythms
• cadences
• ballads
• meters
• measures
• descants
• ditties
• madrigals

3

as in splashes

a very small amount

detected a strain of panic in her voice when she asked if the substance was poisonous

Synonyms & Similar Words

• splashes
• specks
• sprinklings
• glimmers
• touches
• hints
• little
• licks
• bits
• traces
• particles
• sparks
• suspicions
• dabs
• shadows
• shades
• flecks
• rays
• streaks
• shreds
• smells
• mites
• drams
• scruples
• ounces
• slivers
• driblets
• peanuts
• spots
• nips
• soupçons
• handfuls
• bites
• parts
• molecules
• spatters
• drops
• grains
• pinches
• smacks
• crumbs
• syllables
• scintillas
• tastes
• snaps
• doses
• skoshes
• aces
• dashes
• fragments
• minims
• drops in the bucket
• smidgens
• atoms
• vestiges
• patches
• sections
• minima
• dots
• granules
• portions
• motes
• semblances
• flyspecks
• nibbles
• splinters
• morsels
• smatterings
• scraps
• shivers
• shards
• flakes
• hoots
• nubbins
• modicums
• whits
• scatterings
• jots
• iotas
• chips
• smatters
• tittles
• clippings
• parings
• tatters
• shavings
• shots
• smithereens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• quantities
• loads
• masses
• mountains
• piles
• barrels
• bundles
• abundances
• stacks
• buckets
• rafts
• bushels
• volumes
• deals
• lots
• reams
• heaps
• messes
• wealths
• wads
• pecks
• scads
• gobs
• oodles
• fistfuls
• boatloads
• excesses
• lashings
• surpluses
• profusions
• embarrassments
• much
• potfuls
• plenties
• overflows
• passels
• slabs
• overages
• bonanzas
• superfluities
• chunks
• lumps
• overmuch
• hunks
• oversupplies
• overabundances
• surfeits
• overkills
• superabundances

4

as in types

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 & Similar Words

• types
• kinds
• genres
• varieties
• sorts
• stripes
• breeds
• species
• natures
• descriptions
• kidneys
• classes
• manners
• feathers
• likes
• persuasions
• ilks
• samples
• orders
• categories
• specimens
• models
• groups
• families
• groupings
• ranks
• brackets
• suites
• divisions
• sets
• grades
• bunches
• lots

strains

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of strain

as in stresses

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 & Similar Words

• stresses
• pressures
• tensions
• worries
• loads
• anxieties
• concerns
• weights
• irritations
• persecutions
• troubles
• angers
• exasperations
• annoyances
• aggravations

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• comforts
• consolations

strains

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of strain

1

as in pulls

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 & Similar Words

• pulls
• damages
• bruises
• stretches
• hurts
• racks
• weakens
• wounds
• tears
• wrenches
• taxes
• harms
• frays
• impairs
• lames
• cripples
• batters
• mutilates
• mangles

2

as in filters

to pass through a filter

better strain that coffee thoroughly to get all the grounds out

Synonyms & Similar Words

• filters
• screens
• percolates
• leaches

3

as in struggles

to devote serious and sustained effort

the whole department is straining to complete the project before the deadline

Synonyms & Similar Words

• struggles
• labors
• strives
• works
• endeavors
• slaves
• tugs
• toils
• sweats
• tries
• plows
• humps
• travails
• hustles
• plugs
• grubs
• pegs (away)
• bangs away
• digs (away)
• fags
• drudges
• sweats blood
• plods
• attacks
• moils
• buckles (down)
• slogs
• applies (oneself)
• beavers (away)
• exercises
• hammers (away)
• knuckles down
• pitches in
• scratches
• essays
• exerts
• grinds (out)
• drives
• digs in
• overworks
• ekes out
• overexerts
• wades
• trudges
• puts out
• scrabbles

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breaks
• eases (up)
• slackens
• chills
• slacks (off)
• lets up
• lounges
• goofs (off)
• hangs (around or out)
• lazes
• goldbricks
• rests
• bums
• loafs
• shirks
• dillydallies
• dallies
• idles
• unwinds
• hacks (around)
• plays
• relaxes
• footles
• basks
• reposes
• lolls
• hangs
• fools around
• fribbles
• trifles
• hangs about
• vegges out
• messes around
• doodles
• goofs (around)
• dabbles
• potters (around)
• monkeys (around)
• putters (around)

4

as in drips

to flow forth slowly through small openings

put the cooked fruit in a cheesecloth bag and let the juice strain into a pan

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drips
• flows
• seeps
• percolates
• exudes
• oozes
• sweats
• bleeds
• weeps
• transudes
• springs
• emanates
• trickles
• gives off
• emits
• dribbles
• vents
• discharges

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• streams
• surges
• floods
• pours
• gushes

5

as in stretches

to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress

strained her memory but the name just wouldn't come to her

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stretches
• tests
• tries
• gets (to)
• pushes
• taxes
• pressures
• pains
• annoys
• demands
• bothers
• irritates
• exasperates
• aggravates
• presses
• harasses
• importunes
• irks
• grates
• exacts
• nettles
• hassles
• galls
• vexes
• gnaws (at)
• riles
• pesters
• agitates
• peeves
• harries
• spites

6

as in tightens

to draw tight

the dog strained its leash trying to get to the cat

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tightens
• tenses
• stretches
• tautens
• elongates
• lengthens
• extends
• constricts
• cinches

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slacks
• loosens
• eases
• slackens
• relaxes

7

as in hugs

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 & Similar Words

• hugs
• clasps
• cradles
• clings
• embraces
• wraps
• crushes
• bear-hugs
• enfolds
• grasps
• enclasps
• grabs
• clamps
• holds
• grips
• folds
• locks
• snuggles
• envelops
• pats
• strokes
• pets
• entwines
• twines
• bosoms
• embosoms
• encircles
• enwinds
• cuddles
• nuzzles
• nestles
• fondles

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of strains

Noun

Lexington is the sort of place where the arrival of your luggage at a baggage claim carousel is accompanied by the bugle strains of the call to the post, where Citation Boulevard hugs the north edges of the city and Man o’War Boulevard the south. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026

Because of this limitation, even the emergence of an antibiotic-resistant strain won’t necessarily spark a new pandemic, Wagner says, noting that such strains have already shown up in Madagascar. — Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026

The soon-to-be 37-year-old missed more than five months this past season after suffering two right calf strains and one to his left side. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 27 Oct. 2026

Those fiscal strains come as political volatility and social unrest raise doubts about the government’s ability to deliver measures aimed at stabilizing the public finances. — Jenni Reid,chloe Taylor, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

The first focuses on improving protein yields by optimizing gene sequences, introducing them into Spiber’s proprietary microbial strains and evaluating their performance. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026

Antetokounmpo played in a career-low low 36 games with the Bucks last season due in large part to multiple calf strains. — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026

The health effects depend on the specific strains and the amount consumed. — Sarah Jividen, Verywell Health, 23 Oct. 2026

The latest changes arrive in the heat of a midterm election cycle that has underscored the strains on American democracy. — ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026

Verb

Iron Boy follows a young boy growing up in rural France who strains against the rigid restrictions of his home life, and the metal corset he is forced to wear 24/7 to correct his spinal conditions. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026

The house strains against the steel straps and anchors holding it down. — Daniel Wolfe, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026

Because mRNA vaccines can be developed and manufactured more quickly than traditional shots, scientists could wait until later in the year before selecting which influenza strains to target. — Claire Maldarelli, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026

But strains at the top of the organization over its brand and direction reflect many premium news outlets’ dilemmas about survival and profit in a post-traffic, AI-ascendant media age. — Max Tani, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026

But that unpaid bill becomes uncompensated care, which over time erodes operating margins and strains hospital finances. — Amber Bellazaire, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026

This assertion strains logic and factual reality to the breaking point. — Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026

Stanton hasn’t played since April 24 because of calf strains in both legs, but was included on the roster for the Wild Card round against the Boston Red Sox. — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 3 Oct. 2026

Film strains sapphire For the study, the researchers examined vanadium dioxide (VO2) films, which are grown on sapphire. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026