| sieve | | |
| n. (artifact) | 1. screen, sieve | a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles. |
| ~ riddle | a coarse sieve (as for gravel). |
| ~ sifter | a household sieve (as for flour). |
| ~ strainer | a filter to retain larger pieces while smaller pieces and liquids pass through. |
| v. (social) | 2. screen, screen out, sieve, sort | examine in order to test suitability.; "screen these samples"; "screen the job applicants" |
| ~ choose, pick out, select, take | pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives.; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her" |
| v. (contact) | 3. sieve, sift | check and sort carefully.; "sift the information" |
| ~ analyse, analyze, examine, study, canvass, canvas | consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning.; "analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare"; "analyze the evidence in a criminal trial"; "analyze your real motives" |
| v. (contact) | 4. sieve, sift, 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" |
| ~ rice | sieve so that it becomes the consistency of rice.; "rice the potatoes" |
| ~ resift | sift anew. |
| ~ riddle, screen | separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff. |
| ~ winnow, fan | separate the chaff from by using air currents.; "She stood there winnowing chaff all day in the field" |
| v. (cognition) | 5. sieve, sift | distinguish and separate out.; "sift through the job candidates" |
| ~ choose, pick out, select, take | pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives.; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her" |
| sift | | |
| v. (motion) | 1. sift | move as if through a sieve.; "The soldiers sifted through the woods" |
| ~ go, locomote, move, travel | change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically.; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" |
| strain | | |
| n. (phenomenon) | 1. strain | (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces. |
| ~ natural philosophy, physics | the science of matter and energy and their interactions.; "his favorite subject was physics" |
| ~ deformation | alteration in the shape or dimensions of an object as a result of the application of stress to it. |
| ~ overstrain | too much strain. |
| n. (state) | 2. strain, stress | difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension.; "she endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger" |
| ~ difficulty | a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome.; "grappling with financial difficulties" |
| n. (communication) | 3. air, line, melodic line, melodic phrase, melody, strain, tune | a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence.; "she was humming an air from Beethoven" |
| ~ tucket, fanfare, flourish | (music) a short lively tune played on brass instruments.; "he entered to a flourish of trumpets"; "her arrival was greeted with a rousing fanfare" |
| ~ glissando | a rapid series of ascending or descending notes on the musical scale. |
| ~ roulade | (music) an elaborate run of several notes sung to one syllable. |
| ~ music | an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner. |
| ~ leitmotif, leitmotiv | a melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation (as in Wagner's operas). |
| ~ theme song | a melody that recurs and comes to represent a musical play or movie. |
| ~ signature tune, theme song, signature | a melody used to identify a performer or a dance band or radio/tv program. |
| ~ melodic theme, musical theme, theme, idea | (music) melodic subject of a musical composition.; "the theme is announced in the first measures"; "the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it" |
| ~ part, voice | the melody carried by a particular voice or instrument in polyphonic music.; "he tried to sing the tenor part" |
| ~ musical phrase, phrase | a short musical passage. |
| n. (state) | 4. mental strain, nervous strain, strain | (psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress.; "his responsibilities were a constant strain"; "the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him" |
| ~ psychological science, psychology | the science of mental life. |
| ~ nerves, nervousness | an uneasy psychological state.; "he suffered an attack of nerves" |
| ~ tension, stress, tenseness | (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense.; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor" |
| n. (group) | 5. breed, stock, strain | a special variety of domesticated animals within a species.; "he experimented on a particular breed of white rats"; "he created a new strain of sheep" |
| ~ animal group | a group of animals. |
| ~ variety | (biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differ from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics.; "varieties are frequently recognized in botany" |
| ~ bloodstock | thoroughbred horses (collectively). |
| ~ pedigree | line of descent of a purebred animal. |
| ~ species | (biology) taxonomic group whose members can interbreed. |
| n. (group) | 6. form, strain, var., variant | (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups.; "a new strain of microorganisms" |
| ~ biological science, biology | the science that studies living organisms. |
| ~ taxon, taxonomic category, taxonomic group | animal or plant group having natural relations. |
| ~ species | (biology) taxonomic group whose members can interbreed. |
| n. (state) | 7. strain | injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain. |
| ~ harm, hurt, injury, trauma | any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.. |
| n. (cognition) | 8. strain, tenor | the general meaning or substance of an utterance.; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument" |
| ~ meaning, substance | the idea that is intended.; "What is the meaning of this proverb?" |
| ~ purport, drift | the pervading meaning or tenor.; "caught the general drift of the conversation" |
| n. (act) | 9. nisus, pains, strain, striving | an effortful attempt to attain a goal. |
| ~ attempt, effort, try, endeavor, endeavour | earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something.; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try" |
| ~ jehad, jihad | a holy struggle or striving by a Muslim for a moral or spiritual or political goal. |
| n. (act) | 10. strain, straining | an intense or violent exertion. |
| ~ elbow grease, exertion, effort, travail, sweat | use of physical or mental energy; hard work.; "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion" |
| n. (act) | 11. song, strain | the act of singing.; "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates" |
| ~ vocal music | music that is vocalized (as contrasted with instrumental music). |
| ~ carol | a joyful song (usually celebrating the birth of Christ). |
| ~ cradlesong, lullaby | the act of singing a quiet song to lull a child to sleep. |
| v. (competition) | 12. reach, strain, strive | to exert much effort or energy.; "straining our ears to hear" |
| ~ extend oneself | strain to the utmost. |
| ~ kill oneself, overexert oneself | strain oneself more than is healthy. |
| ~ labor, labour, tug, 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" |
| ~ bother, inconvenience oneself, trouble oneself, trouble | take the trouble to do something; concern oneself.; "He did not trouble to call his mother on her birthday"; "Don't bother, please" |
| v. (emotion) | 13. strain, stress, try | test the limits of.; "You are trying my patience!" |
| ~ afflict | cause great unhappiness for; distress.; "she was afflicted by the death of her parents" |
| ~ rack | stretch to the limits.; "rack one's brains" |
| v. (consumption) | 14. extend, strain | 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" |
| ~ apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize | 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" |
| ~ overextend, overstrain | strain excessively.; "He overextended himself when he accepted the additional assignment" |
| ~ task, tax | use to the limit.; "you are taxing my patience" |
| v. (body) | 15. strain, tense, 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" |
| ~ tense up, tense | become tense, nervous, or uneasy.; "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room" |
| ~ stretch, extend | extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body.; "Stretch your legs!"; "Extend your right arm above your head" |
| v. (contact) | 16. 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" |
| v. (contact) | 17. filter, filter out, filtrate, separate out, strain | remove by passing through a filter.; "filter out the impurities" |
| ~ separate | divide into components or constituents.; "Separate the wheat from the chaff" |
| v. (contact) | 18. puree, strain | rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender.; "puree the vegetables for the baby" |
| ~ cookery, cooking, preparation | the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat.; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife" |
| ~ rub | move over something with pressure.; "rub my hands"; "rub oil into her skin" |
| v. (change) | 19. 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" |
| ~ jaundice | distort adversely.; "Jealousy had jaundiced his judgment" |
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