straitjacket

or straight·jack·et

[ streyt-jak-it ]

/ ˈstreɪtˌdʒæk ɪt /

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See synonyms for straitjacket on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

anything that severely confines, constricts, or hinders: Conventional attitudes can be a straitjacket, preventing original thinking.

verb (used with object) Also strait-jacket.

to put in or as in a straitjacket: Her ambition was straitjacketed by her family.

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Origin of straitjacket

First recorded in 1805–15; strait + jacket

Words nearby straitjacket

straining piece, straining sill, strait, straiten, straitened, straitjacket, strait-lace, strait-laced, Straits dollar, Straits Settlements, strake

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use straitjacket in a sentence

Past precedent is important and instructive, but it shouldn’t be a straitjacket.
America's Cities Are in Crisis. They Should be Allowed to Raise Debt to Save Themselves|Zachary Karabell|February 11, 2021|Time
But the very decision to sell songs to targeted genre fans has turned into an aesthetic straitjacket.
Five Lessons the Faltering Music Industry Could Learn From TV|Ted Gioia|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What matters now for Rowhani is whether he can get anything done within the straitjacket imposed by Khamenei.
Rowhani's Empty Victory|Andrew Apostolou|June 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But they are struggling to overcome the ideological straitjacket that has become the U.S. Congress.
America’s Catholic Moment, and Its New Breed of Catholic Politicians|Michael Sean Winters|March 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST

“I hope that the visit and U.S. engagement will put the generals in a straitjacket,” said Aung Zaw.
Obama Does Delicate Dance on Historic Visit to Burma|Lennox Samuels|November 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It was, almost literally, a political straitjacket for President Obama.
Obama's Pipeline Headache|Daniel Stone|November 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
His arms were inserted in the long, closed sleeves of the straitjacket.
The Adventurous Life of a Versatile Artist: Houdini|Harry Houdini
The next minute he was pinned, handcuffed, and in a straitjacket, after crippling one assailant with a kick on the knee.
Hard Cash|Charles Reade
I always thought him sane enough until today, but you can take it from me that either he or I ought to be in a straitjacket.
The Hound of the Baskervilles|A. Conan Doyle
The straitjacket which German idealism has provided is certainly far too narrow even for the varieties of human imagination.
Character and Opinion in the United States|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
His first move was to take the straitjacket in his own hands and order me to stand.
A Mind That Found Itself|Clifford Whittingham Beers

British Dictionary definitions for straitjacket

straitjacket

/ (ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt) /

noun

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

a severe restriction or limitation

verb

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

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

straitjacket

or straight·jack·et

Origin of straitjacket

Words nearby straitjacket

Words related to straitjacket

How to use straitjacket in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for straitjacket