Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not forced or resulting from excessive effort; natural and easy: Describes something done or occurring without strain, tension, or undue pressure, appearing effortless.
   • Not placed under psychological stress; relaxed: Describes a state of being free from mental or emotional tension.
   • Not filtered or purified (less common): In a technical or literal sense, describes a substance that has not been passed through a strainer.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective (Not forced, natural):

  • She answered with an unstrained confidence that impressed the interviewers.
  • The dialogue in the film felt refreshingly unstrained and authentic.

• Adjective (Not under stress):

  • After the holidays, he returned to work feeling completely unstrained.
  • Their unstrained relationship was built on mutual trust and respect.

Advanced Usage

• "Pleasingly unstrained": A common collocation emphasizing the positive, natural quality of something, such as a voice or manner.
  • The singer's unstrained vocals were the highlight of the performance.

Variants and Related Words

• Strained (adj): The direct antonym, meaning forced, tense, or subjected to pressure.
  • a strained smile
• Unforced (adj): Very similar in meaning, suggesting naturalness and lack of pressure.
  • an unforced error in tennis

Synonyms

• Effortless
• Natural
• Relaxed
• Unforced

Antonyms

• Strained
• Forced
• Tense
• Labored

Notes on Different Meanings

• The primary and most frequent meaning relates to a lack of force, effort, or psychological tension.
• The technical meaning of "not filtered" (e.g., ) is specific and less common in general usage. In most contexts, "unstrained" refers to an abstract quality rather than a physical process.

Adjective

1. not resulting from undue effort; not forced
   • a voice with a pleasingly unforced quality
   • his playing is facile and unstrained
2. not placed under psychological stress
   • the campaign would not leave party loyalties unstrained