strained
Americanadjective
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affected or produced by effort; not natural or spontaneous; forced.
strained hospitality.
adjective
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(of an action, performance, etc) not natural or spontaneous
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(of an atmosphere, relationship, etc) not relaxed; tense
Other Word Forms
- strainedly adverb
- strainedness noun
- well-strained adjective
Etymology
Origin of strained
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; strain 1, -ed 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Dodgers placed Mookie Betts on the injured list after learning he suffered a strained right oblique and called up Hyeseong Kim from Oklahoma City.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026
These are also people who fret about the high cost of top colleges, and might still feel strained by rising expenses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
“As a business, we’ve got to put options on the table and say, ‘OK, the unit economics are now strained.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Anya strained her ears, trying to figure out what he was saying, what part of the blessing he was on, but she couldn’t catch up before everyone else said, "Ameyn" again.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.