restrain
Americanverb
-
to hold (someone) back from some action, esp by force
-
to deprive (someone) of liberty, as by imprisonment
-
to limit or restrict
Related Words
See check 1.
Other Word Forms
- overrestrain verb (used with object)
- prerestrain verb (used with object)
- restrainability noun
- restrainable adjective
- restrainingly adverb
- unrestrainable adjective
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
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.
During the news conference, prosecutors said they would attempt to get a court to issue a temporary restraining order to block the deployment as early as Tuesday.
From BBC
Before issuing a second restraining order barring deployments of any National Guard troops in Oregon, a frustrated Immergut laid into the Justice Department attorney defending the administration.
From Los Angeles Times
But if he is serious about restraining American corporations’ ability to pay dividends or buy back shares, it could put a major crimp in market returns.
From Barron's
The Welsh actor has built a career playing men who appear restrained on the surface but conceal something far more volatile beneath.
From BBC
He climbed over a barrier and was immediately restrained by officers from the imperial guard and Tokyo police who wrapped him in a blanket and led him away.
From Barron's
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.
