constraint

American  

[kuhn-streynt] / kənˈstreɪnt /

noun

1. limitation or restriction.

   Synonyms:

   pressure, obligation, force

2. repression of natural feelings and impulses.

   to practice constraint.

3. unnatural restraint in manner, conversation, etc.; embarrassment.

4. something that constrains.

5. the act of constraining.

6. the condition of being constrained.

7. Linguistics. a restriction on the operation of a linguistic rule or the occurrence of a linguistic construction.

---

constraint British  

/ kənˈstreɪnt /

noun

1. compulsion, force, or restraint

2. repression or control of natural feelings or impulses

3. a forced unnatural manner; inhibition

4. something that serves to constrain; restrictive condition

   social constraints kept him silent

5. linguistics any very general restriction on a sentence formation rule

---

Other Word Forms

• nonconstraint
  noun

Etymology

Origin of constraint

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English constreinte, from Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of constreindre “to constrain”; see constrain

Explanation

A constraint is a limit or restriction. Hopefully your school won't cut the sports or music programs due to budget constraints! You might notice that constraint is similar to the verb constrict, as in boa constrictor. A constraint tightens around you like a snake and prevents you from doing what you want. Financial constraints prevent you from buying the latest electronic device. Are you tired of living under the constraint of your parents' rules? Sometimes your worries or feelings act as a constraint. You know that someone has become a close friend when you can talk to them without constraint.

Example Sentences

The authors do this by what they call an "Emergent Constraint," which is a fancy name for something quite simple.

From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2024

Constraint is useful for the basic plot reason that it can force unexpected people together; summer adds heat to the pressure.

From The Guardian • Aug. 4, 2018

His book, “Power Without Constraint: The Post 9/11 Presidency and National Security,” will be published in May 2016 by the University of Wisconsin Press. 

From MSNBC • Apr. 30, 2016

Constraint and existential defiance are in continuous opposition.

From The Guardian • Apr. 1, 2013

These Forms of Conversation by degrees multiplied and grew troublesome; the Modish World found too great a Constraint in them, and have therefore thrown most of them aside.

From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph

Related Words

• curb
• hindrance
• restraint