constraint
[ kuhn-streynt ]
/ kənˈstreɪnt /
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
- constitutionally,
- constitutive,
- constr.,
- constrain,
- constrained,
- constrict,
- constriction,
- constriction ring,
- constrictive,
- constrictive pericarditis
Origin of constraint
1350–1400; Middle English constreinte < Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of constreindre; see constrain
SYNONYMS FOR constraint
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web 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
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constraint
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