stricture

[strik-cher]

noun

1. a remark or comment, especially an adverse criticism.

   The reviewer made several strictures upon the author's style.

2. an abnormal contraction of any passage or duct of the body.

3. Phonetics.,  a constriction of airflow in the vocal tract in the production of speech.

4. a restriction.

5. Archaic.,  the act of enclosing or binding tightly.

6. Obsolete.,  strictness.

stricture

/ ˈstrɪktʃə /

noun

1. a severe criticism; censure

2. pathol an abnormal constriction of a tubular organ, structure, or part

3. obsolete,  severity

Other Word Forms

• strictured adjective
• nonstrictured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stricture¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin strictūra tightening, equivalent to Latin strict ( us ) ( strict ) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of stricture¹

C14: from Latin strictūra contraction; see _strict

Example Sentences

He has described himself as more writer than reporter, and therefore not bound by the usual journalistic strictures.

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What this means for policymakers is obvious: AI, understood as a tool, is subject to the ethical concerns and strictures of all other tools.

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It is a reminder of the deep-seated conservatism that still prevails in Saudi Arabia, despite a roll-back of social strictures in recent times.

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To Cicero it meant “rules or strictures”; following him, Mr. Appiah writes, St. Augustine observed that it refers not only to worship but to “the observance of duties in human relationships.”

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After interdiction, the Coast Guard typically begins a process that adheres to legal strictures, detaining the crew and eventually turning them over to a U.S. law enforcement agency.

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Related Words

• restraint