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constraint

[ kuhn-streynt ]
/ kənˈstreɪnt /
||
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noun

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RELATED WORDS

restraint, pressure, inhibition, curb, hindrance, motive, necessity, driving, spring, violence, goad, repression, coercion, suppression, hang-up, compulsion, spur, duress, monkey, impulsion

Nearby words

  1. constitutionally,
  2. constitutive,
  3. constr.,
  4. constrain,
  5. constrained,
  6. constrict,
  7. constriction,
  8. constriction ring,
  9. constrictive,
  10. constrictive pericarditis

Origin of constraint

1350–1400; Middle English constreinte < Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of constreindre; see constrain
Related formsnon·con·straint, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for constraint

British Dictionary definitions for constraint

constraint

/ (kənˈstreɪnt) /

noun

compulsion, force, or restraint
repression or control of natural feelings or impulses
a forced unnatural manner; inhibition
something that serves to constrain; restrictive conditionsocial constraints kept him silent
linguistics any very general restriction on a sentence formation rule
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 constraint

constraint

n.

late 14c., "distress, oppression," from Old French constreinte "binding, constraint, compulsion" (Modern French contrainte), fem. noun from constreint, past participle of constreindre, from Vulgar Latin *constrinctus, from Latin constrictus (see constrain). Meaning "coercion, compulsion" is from 1530s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper