“Strained”常指紧张的、勉强的、不自然的(多形容关系、气氛、笑容、声音等);也可指拉伤的(肌肉等,较常见于 a strained muscle)。另有少见用法指“过滤后的/澄清的”(如 strained yogurt)。
/streɪnd/
The meeting ended in a strained silence.
会议在一种紧张的沉默中结束了。
Although he tried to sound calm, his strained voice revealed how worried he was about the outcome.
尽管他努力让自己听起来冷静,但他紧绷的声音暴露了他对结果有多担忧。
来自动词 strain(拉紧、用力、使过度紧张),源于古法语 estreindre/streindre(拉紧、束紧),进一步可追溯到拉丁语 stringere(拉紧、束缚)。因此 strained 常带有“被拉得过紧→不自然/紧张”的语感。