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restrainer

American  
[ri-stray-ner] / rɪˈstreɪ nər /

noun

  1. a person or thing that restrains.

  2. Photography. a chemical added to a developer to retard its action.


restrainer British  
/ rɪˈstreɪnə /

noun

  1. a person who restrains

  2. a chemical, such as potassium bromide, added to a photographic developer in order to reduce the amount of fog on a film and to retard the development

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of restrainer

First recorded in 1560–70; restrain + -er 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.

See Examples For:

Philosopher, lawyer, teacher, former tackle for the Williams College "Ephmen" and compulsive thrasher in smooth waters, Bennett has clapped a restrainer on his formidable tongue until the confirmation hearings.

From Time Magazine Archive

Indeed, the "guilt" that Freud never satisfactorily explained is one built-in restrainer.

From Time Magazine Archive

The decisive fifth came in 1962, when the ailing judicial restrainer, Felix Frankfurter, retired, to be succeeded by President Kennedy's gung-ho Labor Secretary, Arthur Goldberg.

From Time Magazine Archive

The pencil-thin fire-spouter and the sleazy-looking "restrainer" had a sufficiently unfamiliar air to go with Maulbow's story; but as far as Gefty knew, either of them could have been manufactured in the Hub.

From The Winds of Time by Adolph E. Brotman

Those who restrain desire to do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained; and the restrainer, or reason, usurps its place and governs the unwilling.

From William Blake A Critical Essay by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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