| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| constrain |
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| SYLLABICATION: | con·strain |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  k n-str n |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: con·strained, con·strain·ing, con·strains
1. To compel by physical, moral, or circumstantial force; oblige: felt constrained to object. See synonyms at force. 2. To keep within close bounds; confine: a life that had been constrained by habit to the same few activities and friends. 3. To inhibit or restrain; hold back: “Failing to control the growth of international debt will also constrain living standards” (Ronald Brownstein). 4. To produce in a forced or inhibited manner. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English constreinen, from Old French constraindre, constraign-, from Latin c nstringere, to restrain, compress : com-, com- + stringere, to bind, press together; see streig- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | con·straina·ble —ADJECTIVE
con·strained·ly (-strn d-l ) —ADVERB
con·strainer —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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