restraint

[ri-streynt]

noun

1. a restraining action or influence.

   freedom from restraint.

2. Sometimes restraints. a means of or device for restraining, as a harness for the body.

3. the act of restraining, holding back, controlling, or checking.

4. the state or fact of being restrained; restrained; deprivation of liberty; confinement.

   Synonyms: incarceration, imprisonment, restriction, circumscription
   Antonyms: liberty

5. constraint or reserve in feelings, behavior, etc.

restraint

/ rɪˈstreɪnt /

noun

1. the ability to control or moderate one's impulses, passions, etc

   to show restraint

2. the act of restraining or the state of being restrained

3. something that restrains; restriction

Other Word Forms

• overrestraint noun
• prerestraint noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of restraint¹

1350–1400; Middle English restreinte < Middle French restrainte, noun use of feminine past participle of restraindre to restrain

Word History and Origins

Origin of restraint¹

C15: from Old French restreinte , from restreindre to _restrain

Example Sentences

“I think the gradual and careful approach remains appropriate and I see scope for further removal of policy restraint,” he said at a conference.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Other conservative leaders have similarly distanced themselves from the more orthodox playbook that calls on governments to exercise fiscal restraint and leave the economy largely in the hands of the private sector.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lewis, who had previously voiced Orwell for the international Talking Statues project — an app that lets passersby scan a QR code to hear historical figures “speak” — approached the feature-length performance with similar restraint.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Upon publishing the budget, De Sausmarez said: "Committees have not been given all that they have asked for, but we hope our colleagues appreciate the need for fiscal restraint in the current circumstances."

Read more on BBC

"She was loved and admired across the globe for her steadfast devotion to duty, borne with grace, decency and restraint."

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Related Words

• ban 
• constraint 
• curb 
• embargo 
• limit 
• prohibition 
• reduction 
• restriction