1
: done or produced with excessive effort
2
: pushed by antagonism near to open conflict
strained relations
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
Burns had a strained relationship with his own father, and the Salarnos took him in as one of their own.
—
Gabriella Demirdjian, CBS News, 2 May 2025
Text messages sent in the hours leading up to O’Keefe’s death read aloud to the court by a Massachusetts state trooper show the couple were at a strained point in their relationship.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
These reductions, aimed at slashing government spending, have sparked widespread alarm about economic instability and strained unemployment systems.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Trump’s unprecedented use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to enact tariffs on imports has roiled markets, stoked forecasts of a potential recession and strained relationships with overseas trading partners.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strained
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Gabriella Demirdjian, CBS News, 2 May 2025
Text messages sent in the hours leading up to O’Keefe’s death read aloud to the court by a Massachusetts state trooper show the couple were at a strained point in their relationship.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
These reductions, aimed at slashing government spending, have sparked widespread alarm about economic instability and strained unemployment systems.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Trump’s unprecedented use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to enact tariffs on imports has roiled markets, stoked forecasts of a potential recession and strained relationships with overseas trading partners.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strained
Cite this Entry
“Strained.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strained. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
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