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

Mr Martin also praised the "heroism" of a member of the public who helped restrain Diedrick.

Read more on BBC

“In Europa, you perform the same concert and the response is much more, how you say, restrained. In England it is”—he imitates a posh English accent—“ ‘That was really lovely, you know.’

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He had feared a national assembly, as Mr. Hardman notes, “because he would have no moral authority to restrain one.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Even restrained in his basement, Michelle understands how he came to this point.

Read more on Salon

Footage of the event showed several people trying to restrain the pair as they sprayed the stones with a mix of cornflour, talcum powder and orange dye.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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