| verb | to exert much effort or energy “straining our ears to hear” |
| verb | test the limits of “You are trying my patience!” |
| verb | use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity “He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro” |
| verb | separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements “sift the flour” |
| verb | cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious “he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up” |
| verb | become stretched or tense or taut “the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;” |
| verb | remove by passing through a filter “filter out the impurities” |
| verb | rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender “puree the vegetables for the baby” |
| verb | alter the shape of (something) by stress “His body was deformed by leprosy” |
| adjective | lacking natural ease “a labored style of debating” |
| adjective | showing signs of mental and emotional tension “her voice was strained as she asked the question” |
| adjective | lacking spontaneity; not natural “a constrained smile” |
| adjective | struggling for effect “agonistic poses” |
| strain | noun | an intense or violent exertion |
| stress | noun | difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; ; - R.J.Samuelson |
| stressor | noun | any agent that causes stress to an organism |
| straining | noun | an intense or violent exertion |
| sifter | noun | a household sieve (as for flour) |
| sifting | noun | the act of separating grain from chaff |
| sieve | noun | a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles |
| strainer | noun | a filter to retain larger pieces while smaller pieces and liquids pass through |
| tension | noun | the physical condition of being stretched or strained |
| filter | noun | device that removes something from whatever passes through it |
| filtration | noun | the process whereby fluids pass through a filter or a filtering medium |
| filtrate | noun | the product of filtration; a gas or liquid that has been passed through a filter |
| puree | noun | food prepared by cooking and straining or processed in a blender |
| deformation | noun | alteration in the shape or dimensions of an object as a result of the application of stress to it |