restrained
Americanadjective
adjective
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(of a person or person's manner) calm and unemotional
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(of clothes, décor, etc) subtle and tasteful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of restrained
Explanation
Use the adjective restrained to describe something that's kept under control, such as strong emotion or even physical movement. If you're angry but you don't want it to show, you might speak in a restrained manner. Restrained can describe someone or something that is physically immobilized or held back. For example, an angry crowd might have to be restrained by riot police. Or it can mean a different kind of holding back and describe something that is understated and discreet. Actresses who walk the red carpet often avoid attention-getting gowns in favor of more restrained outfits in times of war or national crisis.
Vocabulary lists containing restrained
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 5
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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.
Restrained in his deployment of the recordings, McIntosh conjures an enigmatic, shadowy, quietly colorful world, sometimes bone-dry, sometimes softly shimmering.
From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2022
Restrained as a corset, it feels as if "The Essex Serpent" doesn't want us to excite ourselves or to get any ideas beyond the ones drolly lined out for us.
From Salon • May 14, 2022
Restrained price pressures give the Federal Open Market Committee “and me, as a central banker, some latitude to be patient,” Mr. Kaplan said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2018
Restrained, humane and trading in universal needs for nurturing and belonging, Lean on Pete won’t prove remotely as divisive, but its outside gaze is just as integral to its storytelling and its aching emotional payoff.
From The Guardian • Apr. 4, 2018
Restrained within its natural limits, the famous laisser faire and laisser passer of the Physiocrates deserves even to-day our respect and our confidence.
From Principles Of Political Economy by Lalor, John J. (John Joseph)
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.
