constrain

[kuhn-streyn]

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verb (used with object)

to force, compel, or oblige: He was constrained to admit the offense.

to confine forcibly, as by bonds.

to repress or restrain: Cold weather constrained the plant's growth.

Origin of constrain

1275–1325; Middle English constrei(g)nen < Anglo-French, Middle French constrei(g)n- (stem of constreindre) < Latin constringere. See con-, strain¹

Related formscon·strain·a·ble, adjectivecon·strain·er, nouncon·strain·ing·ly, adverbnon·con·strain·ing, adjectiveun·con·strain·a·ble, adjectiveun·con·strain·ing, adjective

Can be confusedcoerce compel constrain force oblige

Synonyms for constrain

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR constrain ON THESAURUS.COM

1. coerce. 2. check, bind.

Antonyms for constrain

2. free.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for constrain

inhibit, bind, necessitate, curb, constrict, stifle, incarcerate, chain, immure, deprive, coerce, intern, check, make, compel, confine, urge, oblige, cork, pressure

Examples from the Web for constrain

Contemporary Examples of constrain

Isha Aran at Jezebel worries that the show “glorif[ies] the way religion can constrain people.”
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism
Samantha Allen
January 1, 2015
This argument is vital to a larger argument: Do we obey the rules set up to constrain government or not?
Obama’s ISIS War Is Illegal
Sen. Rand Paul
November 10, 2014
But when you can sing like that, how can you constrain that voice and possibly be comfortable in the back?
‘20 Feet From Stardom’: Judith Hill, Darlene Love, and Lisa Fischer Star in the Oscar-Shortlisted Documentary
Kevin Fallon
January 10, 2014
President Obama is at least as eager to constrain Medicare spending as Republicans, possibly even more so.
Wanna Beat Obama? Here's How
David Frum
December 13, 2012
The response will be to get more security, to constrain how freely ambassadors move around.
Finger-Pointing Set to Begin in Fatal Attack on U.S. Compound in Libya
Winston Ross
September 14, 2012

Historical Examples of constrain

I beg your pardon, but my brother; he shall not constrain me.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Would you profit by the authority you possess over her to constrain her will?
One Of Them
Charles James Lever
But only the vision of the Love that was willing to be broken for us can constrain us to be willing for that.
The Calvary Road
Roy Hession
Masters were forbidden to constrain slaves to marry against their will.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 3, 1918
Various
The hand of the bat has become so modified as to constrain the bat to live in the air.
Form and Function
E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

British Dictionary definitions for constrain

constrain

verb (tr)

to compel or force, esp by persuasion, circumstances, etc; oblige

to restrain by or as if by force; confine

Derived Formsconstrainer, noun

Word Origin for constrain

C14: from Old French constreindre, from Latin constringere to bind together, from stringere to bind

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for constrain

early 14c., constreyen, from stem of Old French constreindre (Modern French contraindre) "restrain, control," from Latin constringere "to bind together, tie tightly, fetter, shackle, chain," from com- "together" (see com-) + stringere "to draw tight" (see strain (v.)). Related: Constrained; constraining.