Antonyms of verb strain

1 of 9 senses of strain

Sense 5
tense, strain, tense up -- (cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up")
       Antonym of unstrain (Sense 1)
      => relax, unstrain, unlax, loosen up, unwind, make relaxed -- (cause to feel relaxed; "A hot bath always relaxes me")

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb strain

9 senses of strain

Sense 1
strive, reach, strain -- (to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear")
       => tug, labor, labour, push, drive -- (strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her doctoral thesis")

Sense 2
try, strain, stress -- (test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!")
       => afflict -- (cause great unhappiness for; distress; "she was afflicted by the death of her parents")

Sense 3
strain, extend -- (use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity; "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much")
       => use, utilize, utilise, apply, employ -- (put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer")

Sense 4
sift, sieve, strain -- (separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour")
       => separate -- (divide into components or constituents; "Separate the wheat from the chaff")

Sense 5
tense, strain, tense up -- (cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up")
       => affect -- (act physically on; have an effect upon; "the medicine affects my heart rate")

Sense 6
strain, tense -- (become stretched or tense or taut; "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached")
       => tighten -- (become tight or tighter; "The rope tightened")

Sense 7
filter, filtrate, strain, separate out, filter out -- (remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities")
       => separate -- (divide into components or constituents; "Separate the wheat from the chaff")

Sense 8
puree, strain -- (rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender; "puree the vegetables for the baby")
       => rub -- (move over something with pressure; "rub my hands"; "rub oil into her skin")

Sense 9
deform, distort, strain -- (alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy")
       => shape, form -- (give shape or form to; "shape the dough"; "form the young child's character")

Antonyms of adj strained

4 senses of strained

Sense 1
labored, laboured, strained -- (lacking natural ease; "a labored style of debating")

INDIRECT (VIA awkward) -> graceful -- (characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution)

Sense 2
strained -- (showing signs of mental and emotional tension; "her voice was strained as she asked the question")

INDIRECT (VIA tense) -> relaxed -- (without strain or anxiety; "gave the impression of being quite relaxed"; "a relaxed and informal discussion")

Sense 3
constrained, forced, strained -- (lacking spontaneity; not natural; "a constrained smile"; "forced heartiness"; "a strained smile")

INDIRECT (VIA affected) -> unaffected -- (free of artificiality; sincere and genuine; "an unaffected grace")

Sense 4
agonistic, strained -- (struggling for effect; "agonistic poses")

INDIRECT (VIA affected) -> unaffected -- (free of artificiality; sincere and genuine; "an unaffected grace")

Similarity of adj strained

4 senses of strained

Sense 1
labored, laboured, strained -- (lacking natural ease; "a labored style of debating")
       => awkward (vs. graceful) -- (lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance; "an awkward dancer"; "an awkward gesture"; "too awkward with a needle to make her own clothes"; "his clumsy fingers produced an awkward knot")

Sense 2
strained -- (showing signs of mental and emotional tension; "her voice was strained as she asked the question")
       => tense (vs. relaxed) -- (in or of a state of physical or nervous tension)

Sense 3
constrained, forced, strained -- (lacking spontaneity; not natural; "a constrained smile"; "forced heartiness"; "a strained smile")
       => affected (vs. unaffected), unnatural -- (speaking or behaving in an artificial way to make an impression)

Sense 4
agonistic, strained -- (struggling for effect; "agonistic poses")
       => affected (vs. unaffected), unnatural -- (speaking or behaving in an artificial way to make an impression)