stricture
Americannoun
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a remark or comment, especially an adverse criticism.
The reviewer made several strictures upon the author's style.
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an abnormal contraction of any passage or duct of the body.
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Phonetics. a constriction of airflow in the vocal tract in the production of speech.
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a restriction.
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Archaic. the act of enclosing or binding tightly.
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Obsolete. strictness.
noun
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a severe criticism; censure
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pathol an abnormal constriction of a tubular organ, structure, or part
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obsolete severity
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stricture
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin strictūra tightening, equivalent to Latin strict ( us ) ( see strict) + -ūra -ure
Explanation
One meaning of stricture is a nasty criticism, while the other is a sharp contraction of a tube or canal in the body. Either meaning can mean great pain to the person experiencing the stricture. The noun stricture finds its roots in the Late Latin word strictūra, which came from the stem stringere, "to draw tightly." You might remember that meaning by its relationship with the word constrict, meaning "to tighten or draw in." The additional meaning, that of “a critical remark,” is often used in the plural form — like "the critical strictures against cheating."
Vocabulary lists containing stricture
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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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.
Repeating a theme, McMahon said it would be her intention to follow the law, which includes the Constitution’s stricture that Congress controls the purse strings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025
Because her narrowing was causing her to be short of breath, the stricture needed to be opened.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2023
Such a stricture has been harder for the Fed to follow as it has significantly expanded its purchases since last year to stabilize financial markets in the face of the pandemic recession.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2021
The two companies resisted this draconian stricture until, finally on Friday, they didn’t.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 18, 2021
I thrilled to that truth too sweet to be believed: that as I entered the Army, I should be freed in the eyes of the law—no stricture should bind me, no paper should hold me.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
