Sentence examples for if strained from inspiring English sources

The Saudis have normal if strained diplomatic relations with Iran.

He did so with a sense of context that was notable, if strained.

José's forebears had a storied, if strained, relationship with New York.

But there is an important, if strained, commonality between them: the issue of equal treatment by the justice system.

The polite, if strained, cooperation that has long marked the relationship between France's two leaders -- President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin -- came apart today as their supporters hurled accusations of corruption and political manipulation at each other.

At the same time, the toppling of leaders who preserved a stable, if strained, status quo for decades — Mr. Mubarak, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia — has unleashed powerful and still unpredictable forces that the United States has only begun to grapple with and is likely to be doing so for years.

Partly it's his tone of voice, sometimes exasperated, as if straining to make his case.

A director broods in Greek peasant dress as if straining to hear the chords of the Delphic oracle.

The pointed form of the upper-level gallery shoots out over 13th Avenue, as if straining to connect to the old historic core to the north.

Similarly, in quiet moments, Mr. Steers's light brown eyes tend to stare a little, as if straining to see past something terrible that never quite goes away.

Is he bent slightly, as if straining to hear?