straining

Adjective

• taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance
  • his final, straining burst of speed
    
  • a strenuous task
    
  • your willingness after these six arduous days to remain here- F.D.Roosevelt
    

Noun

• the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean

• an intense or violent exertion

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  arduous , strenuous , distortion , overrefinement , torture , twisting , strain