restrain

[ri-streyn]

verb (used with object)

1. to hold back from action; keep in check or under control; repress.

   to restrain one's temper.

   Synonyms: constrain, suppress, curb, control, bridle
   Antonyms: unbridle

2. to deprive of liberty, as by arrest or the like.

   Synonyms: hamper, hinder, circumscribe, restrict, imprison, confine
   Antonyms: release, liberate, free

3. to limit or hamper the activity, growth, or effect of.

   to restrain trade with Cuba.

restrain

/ rɪˈstreɪn /

verb

1. to hold (someone) back from some action, esp by force

2. to deprive (someone) of liberty, as by imprisonment

3. to limit or restrict

Other Word Forms

• restrainable adjective
• restrainability noun
• restrainingly adverb
• overrestrain verb (used with object)
• prerestrain verb (used with object)
• unrestrainable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of restrain¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of restrain¹

C14 restreyne , from Old French restreindre , from Latin rēstringere to draw back tightly, from _re- + stringere to draw, bind; see _strain ¹

Synonym Study

See check ¹.

Example Sentences

An investigation, commissioned by the NHS, found he was given unsafe medication, was injured while being restrained, placed in inappropriate environments and his human rights were breached.

Read more on BBC

Stalled ; A Boston federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security, halting the effort.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The high court ruling set aside a Los Angeles judge’s temporary restraining order that barred agents from stopping people based in part on their race or apparent ethnicity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The government lawyers said the labour unions had failed to establish that their members would be irreparably harmed by the layoffs, which is needed for the judge to grant the restraining order.

Read more on BBC

On Thursday afternoon, a federal judge in Chicago entered a 14-day temporary restraining order preventing the federalization and deployment of the National Guard in Illinois.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• confine 
• constrain 
• control 
• curb 
• curtail 
• detain 
• deter 
• govern 
• hamper 
• hinder 
• inhibit 
• keep down 
• kill 
• limit 
• prevent 
• repress 
• restrict 
• subdue 
• suppress