overstrain
nounEtymology From over- + strain.
1
excessive strain
overstrain
verbEtymology From over- + strain.
1
Ambitransitive To subject to an excessive demand on strength, resources, abilities, or the imagination.
- The very phrase of "generous forbearance" shocked her as overstrained; but she did marvel that Lord Avonleigh felt neither pained nor embarrassed in a situation where such sensations seemed inevitable.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 134:
- Clover warned him sometimes to be careful not to overstrain himself, but Boxer would never listen to her.1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC: