con·straint

[kuhn-streynt]
noun
1.
limitation or restriction.
2.
repression of natural feelings and impulses: to practice constraint.
3.
unnatural restraint in manner, conversation, etc.; embarrassment.
4.
something that constrains.
5.
the act of constraining.
6.
the condition of being constrained.
7.
Linguistics. a restriction on the operation of a linguistic rule or the occurrence of a linguistic construction.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English constreinte < Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of constreindre; see constrain

non·con·straint, noun


1. force, obligation, pressure.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To constraint
00:10
Constraint is always a great word to know.
So is asterisk. Does it mean:
to differ in a way that can serve to distinguish meanings: The sounds (p) and (b) contrast in the words ?pin? and ?bin?
a star (*) used to mark utterance that would be considered ungrammatical or otherwise unacceptable by native speakers of a language
Collins
World English Dictionary
constraint (kənˈstreɪnt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  compulsion, force, or restraint
2.  repression or control of natural feelings or impulses
3.  a forced unnatural manner; inhibition
4.  something that serves to constrain; restrictive condition: social constraints kept him silent
5.  linguistics any very general restriction on a sentence formation rule

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

constraint
late 14c., "distress, oppression," from O.Fr. constreinte (Mod.Fr. contrainte), fem. noun from constreint, pp. of constreindre, from V.L. *constrinctus, from L. constrictus (see constrain). Meaning "coercion, compulsion" is from 1530s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

constraint definition

programming, mathematics
A Boolean relation, often an equality or ineqality relation, between the values of one or more mathematical variables (often two). E.g. x>3 is a constraint on x. constraint satisfaction attempts to assign values to variables so that all constraints are true.
Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.constraints. FAQ (http://cs.unh.edu/ccc/archive/).
(2002-06-08)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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Example sentences
When the government invests, there is no such constraint and money ends up
  being squandered.
And distribution remains the severest constraint of all.
It's a great moment to be watching movies, and this year a ten-best list would
  be an absurd constraint.
One of the hardest things about writing the column, as opposed to blogging, is
  the length constraint.
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