Strained

How to spell strained

8 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce strained

What does strained mean?

1. adjectiveShowing the effects of pressure or tension; not relaxed or natural.
2. verbPast tense of strain: injured by overexertion, or filtered through a sieve.

Strained in a sentence

• adjective

  Their strained relationship finally ended after years of arguments.

• verb

  He strained his back lifting the heavy boxes into the van.

• adjective

  A strained smile crossed his face as he greeted the unwelcome guest.

• verb

  She strained the pasta over the sink before adding the sauce.

Where does strained come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is the past form of the verb 'strain', which came into English in the 1300s through Old French 'estreindre', meaning to bind, press, or squeeze. The Old French verb descended from the Latin 'stringere', which literally meant to draw tight or bind fast; the same Latin root also gave English 'stringent', 'strict', and 'constrain'. From the early sense of pulling something tight, the meaning broadened to cover overworking a muscle, passing liquid through a filter, and, figuratively, putting pressure on a relationship or a budget. The adjective use, as in a 'strained' smile or 'strained' relations, grew naturally from the image of something stretched almost to breaking point. The spelling is regular, since it simply adds '-ed' to 'strain', though the silent 'i' that follows the vowel can be easy to drop.

How the word is built

• strain (from Latin stringere: to draw tight)
• -ed (past tense / adjective suffix)