nervous strain
1
5.8
- noun
- /ˈnɜrvəs streɪn/
:
tensión nerviosa
- The failure in this case would be due only to the limitations of nature... ...or the inability of the patient to withstand the severe nervous strain or physical shock.
Examples
-
-She is under great emotional and nervous strain.
-
- lt's a nervous strain in the family, l bet.
-
Pianist Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler collapsed from "nervous strain" and temporarily canceled all appearances.
Academic text (1993) -
She is experiencing a significant level of nervous strain due to her upcoming exams.
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The constant pressure at work has put him under a lot of nervous strain lately.
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After weeks of tight deadlines, the entire team showed signs of nervous strain.
Synonyms
48
3.3
A state of worry or nervousness caused by difficult situations
1
4.9
A feeling of nervous worry and stress
1
5.1
A feeling of worry and tiredness after thinking for a long time
Antonyms
How Stressed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'nervous' (anxious) modifies 'strain' (stress/tension), so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer 'a state of nervous stress or tension.' This construction follows common adjective + noun semantics and has clear parallels in many languages, making it transparent rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
Nervous strain comes from the image of nerves being pulled tight, like a rope under strain, and nervous shows the worry involved. So it means being under long 'stress' or 'pressure'.