confine
verb (used with object)
to enclose within bounds; limit or restrict.
was confining
-
past progressiveof confine.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
The accent Mr. Easton had absorbed in Texas was confining him, as he told Newsday in 1989, to roles of the “dopey deputy and halfwit hayseed” variety.
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2011
I was confining myself to those that came under the one formula.
From The Terror A Mystery by Arthur Machen
Forbes stated that the chief difficulty was confining the juries to the question of fact; but their verdicts had generally satisfied him.
From The History of Tasmania, Volume I by John West
Father Duff was still as irritable as ever, but he was not so much in evidence, for his increasing lameness was confining him almost entirely to his own room.
From Oh, Money! Money! by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
In time, however, Mrs. Graeme began to feel that the old woman was confining herself too closely to the house.
From Mam' Lyddy's Recognition 1908 by Thomas Nelson Page
