restrain
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to hold (someone) back from some action, esp by force
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to deprive (someone) of liberty, as by imprisonment
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to limit or restrict
Synonym Usage
See check 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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restrainabilitynoun
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overrestrainverb (used with object)
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prerestrainverb (used with object)
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restrainableadjective
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unrestrainableadjective
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restraininglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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restrainsimple
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restrainssimple
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have restrainedperfect
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has restrainedperfect
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am restrainingprogressive
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are restrainingprogressive
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is restrainingprogressive
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have been restrainingperfect progressive
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has been restrainingperfect progressive
Past
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restrainedsimple
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had restrainedperfect
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was restrainingprogressive
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were restrainingprogressive
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had been restrainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of restrain
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English restreynen, from Middle French restreindre, from Latin restringere “to bind back, bind fast”; equivalent to re- + strain 1
Explanation
Restrain means to hold yourself back, which is exactly what you'd have to do if, after weeks of dieting, you found yourself face to face with a dessert case filled with pies, cakes, and cookies. Restrain can also mean to restrict or hold back someone else, to prevent someone from doing what they're intending to do. Prison guards have to restrain a prisoner who is trying to attack one of his fellow inmates. That prisoner might even be put in handcuffs — a kind of restraint. You can restrain yourself, for example if you're watching a Broadway show and suddenly feel the urge to sing along. Your fellow audience members would be grateful for your restraint, especially if you've got a terrible voice.
Vocabulary lists containing restrain
List 10
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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.
See Examples For:
Singer Sae Sar -- who performs under a stage name -- said such stresses fuel the appetite for nightlife even as they restrain it, giving Yangon's social scene its contradictory quality.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
That framework has a grim internal logic: when the economy improves, policy must restrain it before workers and businesses get too comfortable.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026
In law and social science, we call this impact a chilling effect – the behavioral tendency for people in face of a threat to self-censor and restrain their activities for self-protection.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
However, Alan Taylor said, with the key rate still high enough to restrain economic activity, leaving borrowing costs at their current level might be sufficient to prevent second-round effects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
He walks us out to the car again, but this time I restrain myself from giving him a hug.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
TUV leader Jim Allister said he welcomed the ruling as it "restrains" the effect of the Windsor Framework.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Ultimately, the goal is growth that is less dependent on leverage combined with regulation that restrains excess without choking activity.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
There is also a deeper question: How close are rates to “neutral,” a level that neither stimulates nor restrains the economy?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025
More aggressive fine print restrains other follies like the bond portfolio mismatches that undid California-based Silicon Valley Bank two years ago, says Davide Oneglia, director of European and global macro at TS Lombard.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025
This restrains male aggression and enables humans selectively to control the herd’s procreation.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
My wayward wrist was so prone to ruining my cast, I was given a wrist lock—a leather strap that restrained it in place—in order to fix it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Only after the prey is fully restrained does the spider approach and wrap it in silk.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
The BBC has obtained previously unseen footage of a man who died after being restrained by prison officers, which contradicts the version of events put forward by officials.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
While Fraser delivers an external performance as the tough American general, Scott offers a restrained, mostly tamped-down depiction of the repressed and methodical Stagg.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
I was glad during those weeks that I had restrained my anger.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
But the coalition of attorney generals has requested that the companies halt the transaction pending judicial review, threatening a temporary restraining order if they do not comply.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
The coalition has asked the companies not to close the transaction until the legal challenge is resolved, and warned it would seek a temporary restraining order if they refuse.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Sandoval was granted a temporary restraining order which required Robinson and her father to vacate the Los Angeles rental the three had shared.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Judge Katherine Polk Failla, an Obama appointee, issued the temporary restraining order the day after hearing oral argument.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
For a lap and a half, he ran in the cluster of men, unable to get free, restraining his stride to avoid running into the man ahead.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
