restraint

[ri-streynt]

noun

1. a restraining action or influence.

   freedom from restraint.

2. Sometimes restraints. a means of or device for restraining, as a harness for the body.

3. the act of restraining, holding back, controlling, or checking.

4. the state or fact of being restrained; restrained; deprivation of liberty; confinement.

   Synonyms: incarceration, imprisonment, restriction, circumscription
   Antonyms: liberty

5. constraint or reserve in feelings, behavior, etc.

restraint

/ rɪˈstreɪnt /

noun

1. the ability to control or moderate one's impulses, passions, etc

   to show restraint

2. the act of restraining or the state of being restrained

3. something that restrains; restriction

Other Word Forms

• overrestraint noun
• prerestraint noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of restraint¹

1350–1400; Middle English restreinte < Middle French restrainte, noun use of feminine past participle of restraindre to restrain

Word History and Origins

Origin of restraint¹

C15: from Old French restreinte , from restreindre to _restrain

Example Sentences

Bulls may see that as an opportunity for small equipment manufacturers, but the large-equipment makers’ restraint is also a reminder that hot markets don’t always last.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The CPR report stated that "Foden's victims of excessive force used in restraint were all male".

Read more on BBC

A bipartisan and international consensus had long decried the gathering threat of Saddam Hussein’s aggression and defiance of United Nations restraints.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. isn’t urging restraint, a senior Western official said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Amnesty International warned the "risk of further escalation is high" as it urged restraint from authorities.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• ban 
• constraint 
• curb 
• embargo 
• limit 
• prohibition 
• reduction 
• restriction