# straining vs striving

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### straining
*noun · frequency rank #21,950*
The act by which one strains. (muscles, etc)

### striving
*verb · IPA /ˈstɹaɪvɪŋ/ · frequency rank #15,068*
present participle and gerund of strive

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/straining-vs-striving