constrain

[ kuhn-streyn ]
See synonyms for constrain on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to force, compel, or oblige: He was constrained to admit the offense.

  2. to confine forcibly, as by bonds.

  1. to repress or restrain: Cold weather constrained the plant's growth.

Origin of constrain

1
1275–1325; Middle English constrei(g)nen<Anglo-French, Middle French constrei(g)n- (stem of constreindre) <Latin constringere.See con-, strain1

Other words for constrain

Opposites for constrain

Other words from constrain

  • con·strain·a·ble, adjective
  • con·strain·er, noun
  • con·strain·ing·ly, adverb
  • non·con·strain·ing, adjective
  • un·con·strain·a·ble, adjective
  • un·con·strain·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with constrain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use constrain in a sentence

  • But if one of them should by craft or cruelty constrain the other to consent, it is unlawful to the constrainer.

  • If not, if you think to mock us by delay, we shall send you not a constrainer but an avenger.

    The Letters of Cassiodorus | Cassiodorus (AKA Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator)

British Dictionary definitions for constrain

constrain

/ (kənˈstreɪn) /


verb(tr)
  1. to compel or force, esp by persuasion, circumstances, etc; oblige

  2. to restrain by or as if by force; confine

Origin of constrain

1
C14: from Old French constreindre, from Latin constringere to bind together, from stringere to bind

Derived forms of constrain

  • constrainer, noun

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