restraint
Americannoun
-
a restraining action or influence.
freedom from restraint.
-
Sometimes restraints. a means of or device for restraining, as a harness for the body.
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the act of restraining, holding back, controlling, or checking.
-
the state or fact of being restrained; deprivation of liberty; confinement.
- Synonyms:
- incarceration, imprisonment, restriction, circumscription
- Antonyms:
- liberty
-
constraint or reserve in feelings, behavior, etc.
noun
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the ability to control or moderate one's impulses, passions, etc
to show restraint
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the act of restraining or the state of being restrained
-
something that restrains; restriction
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of restraint
1350–1400; Middle English restreinte < Middle French restrainte, noun use of feminine past participle of restraindre to restrain
Explanation
Restraint is the act of holding something back. For example, if you exercise restraint over your emotions, you won't burst out into tears in public. As you may have guessed from its similar spelling, the word restraint comes from the verb restrain, which in turn comes from the Latin word restringere, meaning "draw back tightly, confine, check." When talking about an object, a restraint is a device used to maintain control of something. For example, if your leg is operated on, the doctors will use a restraint to hold it still.
Vocabulary lists containing restraint
Theodore Roosevelt on "New Nationalism" (1910)
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Excerpts from "Jacobson v. Massachusetts"
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shin said “a convincing case could certainly have been made even for raising rates at this meeting,” with uncertainty around the Middle East the main reason for restraint.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
But it’s now clear that once you abandon all restraint and say the ends justify the means, even if there’s an argument for it, the whole legal edifice crumbles.
From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said reacting to temporary energy-price inflation would add unwarranted policy restraint.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
"We ask for fairness and restraint while the judicial process takes its course."
From BBC • May 27, 2026
Not to mention the lack of a seatbelt on a horse—no secondary restraint systems of any kind—and yet horses could go nearly as fast as cars but were much bounder.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
