straitjacket

American  

[streyt-jak-it] / ˈstreɪtˌdʒæk ɪt /

Or straightjacket

noun

1. a garment made of strong material and designed to bind the arms, as of a violently disoriented person.

2. anything that severely confines, constricts, or hinders.

   Conventional attitudes can be a straitjacket, preventing original thinking.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put in or as in a straitjacket.

   Her ambition was straitjacketed by her family.

straitjacket British  

/ ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt /

noun

1. Also called: straightjacket.  a jacket made of strong canvas material with long sleeves for binding the arms of violent prisoners or mentally ill patients

2. a severe restriction or limitation

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verb

1. (tr) to confine in or as if in a straitjacket

Etymology

Origin of straitjacket

First recorded in 1805–15; strait + jacket

Explanation

A jacket-shaped restraint that's meant to confine a violent person safely is called a straitjacket. Straitjackets were once commonly used in psychiatric hospitals. These days you're much more likely to see a straitjacket used as a prop in magic show than in a hospital. Illusionists use straitjackets to perform escape tricks, since they're famously difficult (if not impossible) to wriggle out of. Straitjackets are made of sturdy material and hold the wearer's arms tightly against the body. Before the invention of modern psychiatric medicines and techniques, mentally ill patients were frequently restrained in straitjackets to protect themselves and others.

Example Sentences

For all its aspiration of freedom, it is a straitjacket that cannot be removed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

It makes the whole project less overwhelming — more a compass than a straitjacket.

From Salon • Sep. 9, 2025

The text becomes a straitjacket for a princely son who doesn’t seem accustomed to Shakespearean rigors.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2025

In dressing rooms, a size-XS shirt would go over my head instead of entrapping me like a straitjacket.

From Slate • Jul. 20, 2024

And if you think having Problems in American Democracy is a fun way to end the day, you need a snug-fitting straitjacket.

From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel

Related Words

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