The effect of strain on the adsorption of atomic species (Cl, H, N, and O) on pristine and nitrogen-doped graphene is studied using density functional theory. Expansive strain increases surface reactivity by destabilizing graphene pi orbitals, which is similar to the shift in the d-band center observed on stretched metal surfaces. However, compressive strain leads to the formation of nanoripples that strongly bind atomic species at ridge sites, which is fundamentally different from adsorption on compressed metal surfaces. Our findings suggest that strain can be used as an effective means of manipulating graphene's reactivity, which is explicitly shown here for the oxygen reduction reaction. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.