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Straining   /strˈeɪnɪŋ/   Listen
verb
Strain  v. t.  (past & past part. strained; pres. part. straining)  
1.
To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument. "To strain his fetters with a stricter care."
2.
(Mech.) To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it.
3.
To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously. "He sweats, Strains his young nerves." "They strain their warbling throats To welcome in the spring."
4.
To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in order to convict an accused person. "There can be no other meaning in this expression, however some may pretend to strain it."
5.
To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship.
6.
To injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as, to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to strain a muscle. "Prudes decayed about may track, Strain their necks with looking back."
7.
To squeeze; to press closely. "Evander with a close embrace Strained his departing friend."
8.
To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. "He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth Is forced and strained." "The quality of mercy is not strained."
9.
To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation. "Note, if your lady strain his entertainment."
10.
To press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth.
To strain a point, to make a special effort; especially, to do a degree of violence to some principle or to one's own feelings.
To strain courtesy, to go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others; often used ironically.


Strain  v. i.  
1.
To make violent efforts. "Straining with too weak a wing." "To build his fortune I will strain a little."
2.
To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil.


adjective
Straining  adj.  A. & n. from Strain.
Straining piece (Arch.), a short piece of timber in a truss, used to maintain the ends of struts or rafters, and keep them from slipping.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Straining" Quotes from Famous Books



... saw Herbert beside them. Van Diemen was in the rear, panting, and straining his neck to catch sight of the boat now pulling fast across a tumbled sea to where Tinman himself was perceived, beckoning them wildly, half out ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith
... or little nosegays of exquisite flowers that they were carrying as presents to each other. Verena, who, when Olive was not with her, indulged in a good deal of desultory contemplation at the window, saw them pass the house in Charles Street, always apparently straining a little, as if they might be too late for something. At almost any time, for she envied their preoccupation, she would have taken the chance with them. Very often, when she described them to her mother, Mrs. Tarrant didn't know who they were; there were even ...
— The Bostonians, Vol. I (of II) • Henry James
... hand, so that before I could think, I found myself in the vestibule. Then she entered, swiftlier than the blinding lightning, and had but to shut the door. When the damsel saw me in the vestibule, she came up to me and straining me to her bosom, threw me to the floor, then knelt upon my breast and kneaded my belly with her hands, till I lost my senses. Then she took me by the hand and led me unable to resist, for the violence of her pressure, through seven vestibules, whilst the old woman went before us with the lighted ...
— The Book Of The Thousand Nights And One Night, Volume II • Anonymous
... second the patrol leader sought the lowest limb, and drew himself up. He could feel the trunk of the bending tree straining as it was twisted by the violence of each terrible blast; but undaunted by this impending calamity Paul's only desire was to reach the side of poor Nuthin before worse things happened to him than being carried ...
— The Banner Boy Scouts on a Tour - The Mystery of Rattlesnake Mountain • George A. Warren
... from the morbid conditions of the animal or vegetable so induced; for we see every day the theoretic faculty entirely destroyed in those who are interested in particular animals, by their delight in the results of their own teaching, and by the vain straining of curiosity for new forms such as nature never intended, as the disgusting types for instance, which we see earnestly sought for by the fanciers of rabbits and pigeons, and constantly in horses, substituting for the ...
— Modern Painters Volume II (of V) • John Ruskin


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