Synonyms of strains

strains 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of strain

1

as in lineages

the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended

descended from a strain of Irish seafarers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lineages
• ancestries
• pedigrees
• genealogies
• origins
• families
• descents
• extractions
• blood
• stocks
• bloodlines
• births
• breedings
• lines
• family trees
• parentages
• relatives
• relations
• successions
• races
• houses
• kins
• heredities
• kindreds

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• issues
• seed
• progenies
• offspring
• children
• sons
• posterities
• successors
• heirs
• inheritors

2

as in melodies

a rhythmic series of musical tones arranged to give a pleasing effect

the strain of an old Irish ballad rose up from the revelers downstairs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• melodies
• songs
• tunes
• hymns
• airs
• warbles
• lyrics
• lays
• rhythms
• cadences
• ballads
• meters
• measures
• descants
• ditties
• madrigals

3

as in splashes

a very small amount

detected a strain of panic in her voice when she asked if the substance was poisonous

Synonyms & Similar Words

• splashes
• specks
• sprinklings
• glimmers
• touches
• hints
• little
• licks
• bits
• traces
• particles
• sparks
• suspicions
• dabs
• shadows
• shades
• flecks
• rays
• streaks
• shreds
• smells
• mites
• drams
• scruples
• ounces
• slivers
• driblets
• peanuts
• spots
• nips
• soupçons
• handfuls
• bites
• parts
• molecules
• spatters
• drops
• grains
• pinches
• smacks
• crumbs
• syllables
• scintillas
• tastes
• snaps
• doses
• skoshes
• aces
• dashes
• fragments
• minims
• drops in the bucket
• smidgens
• atoms
• vestiges
• patches
• sections
• minima
• dots
• granules
• portions
• motes
• semblances
• flyspecks
• nibbles
• splinters
• morsels
• smatterings
• scraps
• shivers
• shards
• flakes
• hoots
• nubbins
• modicums
• whits
• scatterings
• jots
• iotas
• chips
• smatters
• tittles
• clippings
• parings
• tatters
• shavings
• shots
• smithereens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• quantities
• loads
• masses
• mountains
• piles
• barrels
• bundles
• abundances
• stacks
• buckets
• rafts
• bushels
• volumes
• deals
• lots
• reams
• heaps
• messes
• wealths
• wads
• pecks
• scads
• gobs
• oodles
• fistfuls
• boatloads
• excesses
• lashings
• surpluses
• profusions
• embarrassments
• much
• potfuls
• plenties
• overflows
• passels
• slabs
• overages
• bonanzas
• superfluities
• chunks
• lumps
• overmuch
• hunks
• oversupplies
• overabundances
• surfeits
• overkills
• superabundances

4

as in types

a number of persons or things that are grouped together because they have something in common

writes mystery novels of a more sophisticated strain

Synonyms & Similar Words

• types
• kinds
• genres
• varieties
• sorts
• stripes
• breeds
• species
• natures
• descriptions
• kidneys
• classes
• manners
• feathers
• likes
• persuasions
• ilks
• samples
• orders
• categories
• specimens
• models
• groups
• families
• groupings
• ranks
• brackets
• suites
• divisions
• sets
• grades
• bunches
• lots

strains

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of strain

as in stresses

the burden on one's emotional or mental well-being created by demands on one's time

the family's constant moving is putting a real strain on the children

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stresses
• pressures
• tensions
• worries
• loads
• anxieties
• concerns
• weights
• irritations
• persecutions
• troubles
• angers
• exasperations
• annoyances
• aggravations

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• comforts
• consolations

strains

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of strain

1

as in pulls

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure

in order to lift something heavy, squat down and lift with your legs, or you'll strain your back

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pulls
• damages
• bruises
• stretches
• hurts
• racks
• weakens
• wounds
• tears
• wrenches
• taxes
• harms
• frays
• impairs
• lames
• cripples
• batters
• mutilates
• mangles

2

as in filters

to pass through a filter

better strain that coffee thoroughly to get all the grounds out

Synonyms & Similar Words

• filters
• screens
• percolates
• leaches

3

as in struggles

to devote serious and sustained effort

the whole department is straining to complete the project before the deadline

Synonyms & Similar Words

• struggles
• labors
• strives
• works
• endeavors
• slaves
• tugs
• toils
• sweats
• tries
• plows
• humps
• travails
• hustles
• plugs
• grubs
• pegs (away)
• bangs away
• digs (away)
• fags
• drudges
• sweats blood
• plods
• attacks
• moils
• buckles (down)
• slogs
• applies (oneself)
• beavers (away)
• exercises
• hammers (away)
• knuckles down
• pitches in
• scratches
• essays
• exerts
• grinds (out)
• drives
• digs in
• overworks
• ekes out
• overexerts
• wades
• trudges
• puts out
• scrabbles

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breaks
• eases (up)
• slackens
• chills
• slacks (off)
• lets up
• lounges
• goofs (off)
• hangs (around or out)
• lazes
• goldbricks
• rests
• bums
• loafs
• shirks
• dillydallies
• dallies
• idles
• unwinds
• hacks (around)
• plays
• relaxes
• footles
• basks
• reposes
• lolls
• hangs
• fools around
• fribbles
• trifles
• hangs about
• vegges out
• messes around
• doodles
• goofs (around)
• dabbles
• potters (around)
• monkeys (around)
• putters (around)

4

as in drips

to flow forth slowly through small openings

put the cooked fruit in a cheesecloth bag and let the juice strain into a pan

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drips
• flows
• seeps
• percolates
• exudes
• oozes
• sweats
• bleeds
• weeps
• transudes
• springs
• emanates
• trickles
• gives off
• emits
• dribbles
• vents
• discharges

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• streams
• surges
• floods
• pours
• gushes

5

as in stretches

to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress

strained her memory but the name just wouldn't come to her

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stretches
• tests
• tries
• gets (to)
• pushes
• taxes
• pressures
• pains
• annoys
• demands
• bothers
• irritates
• exasperates
• aggravates
• presses
• harasses
• importunes
• irks
• grates
• exacts
• nettles
• hassles
• galls
• vexes
• gnaws (at)
• riles
• pesters
• agitates
• peeves
• harries
• spites

6

as in tightens

to draw tight

the dog strained its leash trying to get to the cat

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tightens
• tenses
• stretches
• tautens
• elongates
• lengthens
• extends
• constricts
• cinches

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slacks
• loosens
• eases
• slackens
• relaxes

7

as in hugs

to put one's arms around and press tightly

the woman tenderly strained to her breast the child that she had long ago given up for dead

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hugs
• clasps
• cradles
• clings
• embraces
• wraps
• crushes
• bear-hugs
• enfolds
• grasps
• enclasps
• grabs
• clamps
• holds
• grips
• folds
• locks
• snuggles
• envelops
• pats
• strokes
• pets
• entwines
• twines
• bosoms
• embosoms
• encircles
• enwinds
• cuddles
• nuzzles
• nestles
• fondles

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of strains

Noun

Concern about affording healthcare topped other strains on the household budget, such as food, utilities, and housing costs. — Gabrielle M. Etzel, The Washington Examiner, 8 Oct. 2026

Households already facing budget strains—including rising costs of rent, groceries, and fuel—are already delaying technology purchases until prices come down in the US, the CTA reported. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026

High diesel prices are placing financial strains on the nation's transportation, construction and agricultural industries, which rely heavily on the fuel to move goods and power equipment. — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026

Investigators then measured the strength of their antibody responses against different strains. — Jason Mastoct. 5, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026

Flu seasons can vary widely in their timing and severity, depending in part on which strains are circulating and how much immunity people have from previous infections and how well the vaccine is matched to circulating viruses. — Lena H. Sun, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2026

The hope is that the mRNA vaccine can target emerging strains quicker, according to the CDC. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026

But Rwanda, like many countries, is facing economic strains from high inflation and ripple effects from the Iran war. — Fatma Tanis, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026

Antetokounmpo has been relatively durable throughout his entire NBA career, playing more than 60 games in each of his first 12 regular seasons before playing in a career-low low 36 games last season due in large part to multiple calf strains. — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Verb

Film strains sapphire For the study, the researchers examined vanadium dioxide (VO2) films, which are grown on sapphire. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026

That distillery is well-known for producing 10 different bourbon recipes that are made from a combination of two mashbills and five yeast strains. — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 25 Sep. 2026

Because mRNA vaccines can be produced faster than conventional shots, manufacturers may eventually be able to wait longer before deciding which strains to target — and respond faster if circulating strains change. — Sally C. Pipes, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026

Emma and Lizzie belong to a wealthy New England family and were once close, but as Lizzie and her rebellious housemaid Bridget Sullivan (Vicky Krieps) become deeply entangled, their relationship strains. — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026

Scientists typically have to choose which flu strains to target months before flu season begins, leaving time to manufacture millions of doses. — Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 18 Sep. 2026

The technology allows it to be updated more quickly to match circulating virus strains. — Cindy Krischer Goodman, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026

This strains finance teams and forces them to focus on manual workarounds instead of the strategic work AI should free them up for. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Annual cultivation — the plow, plant, harvest and repeat cycle — strains soil formation, which takes thousands of years and rapidly degrades the farmland. — ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026