strained adj.
1 worried and tense
VERBS be, feel, look, seem, sound
ADV. very | a bit, a little, rather She looked rather strained and miserable.
2 not natural or friendly
VERBS be | become, grow | remain The atmosphere remained somewhat strained all evening.
ADV. extremely, severely, very Relations between the two countries had become severely strained. | increasingly | a bit, a little, rather, slightly, somewhat
You can also check other dicts: strained (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition