Constrain

Definition: Constrain

Constrain

Verb

1. Hold back.

2. Restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "constrain" was first used: sometime in the early 14th century. (references)

Note: Constrain \Con*strain"\, transitive verb. [imperative past participle Constrained; present participle verb or noun Constraining.]. (references)

Synonyms: Constrain

Compulsion

Verb: compel, force, make, drive, coerce, constrain, enforce, necessitate, oblige.

Restraint

Verb: restrain, check; put under restraint, lay under restraint; enthral, enthrall, inthral, inthrall, bethral, bethrall; restrict; debar; (hinder); constrain; coerce; (compel); curb, control; hold back, hold from, hold in, hold in check, hold within bounds, keep back, keep from, keep in, keep in check, keep within bounds; hold in leash, hold in leading strings; withhold.

Crosswords: Constrain

Books

• Conservation Tillage in Temperate Agroecosystems: Development and Adaptation to Soil, Climatic, and Biological Constrain (reference)

• Must Global Politics Constrain Democracy? Great-Power Realism, Democratic Peace, and Democratic Internationalism (reference)

• Six Ideas That Shaped Physics: Unit C: Conservation Laws Constrain Interactions (reference)

• Structure of the Reelfoot-Rough Creek Rift System, Fluorspar Area Fault Complex and Hicks Dome, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky: New constrain (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

To constrain men to any thing inconvenient cloth seem unreasonable. (Second Treatise of Government)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Civil Liberties

Hong Kong

There were, however, a series of developments that sparked concerns about pressures on the Government to constrain the group's criticism of the PRC's anti-Falun Gong policies. (references)

Economic History

Maldives

Limitations on potable water and arable land constrain expansion. (references)

Senegal

However, high duties for related products and computer suppliers (printers, diskettes etc.) constrain demand. (references)

Minorities

Kenya

Chenge Mbitiru, DP M.P. from Laikipia West, has called Asians "the greatest economic enemies" of the country and in 2000 called for "Kenyans" to isolate "Asians" unless the government acts to constrain them. (references)

Political Economy

GUATEMALA

Measures to constrain public expenditures are still being considered, but have not been implemented. (references)

HONG KONG

Consumption taxes on tobacco, alcoholic beverages, and some fuels constrain demand for some U.S. exports. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Albanian

përmbaj (carry, check, choke, comprise, contain, control, Cork, detain, deter, embrace, feature, gulp, hold, hold back, hold in, include, incorporate, pocket, repress, restock, restrain, stay), ndrydh (check, clench, dislocate, jam, sprain, stifle, subdue, suppress, turn, vice, wrench, wrick), detyroj (bind, bully, coerce, compel, dragoon, enforce, entail, force, have, haze, impel, keep, make, move, obligate, oblige, outface, pin down, press, push, rack, screw, strong arm, tie). (various references)

Arabic 

‏كره (abhor, abominate, aversion, be offensive, be repugnant, be repulsive, become hateful, coerce, compel, despise, detest, disfavor, disfavour, disincline, dislike, drive, force, hate, hating, loathe, swagger), ‏وثق (authenticate, believe, confide, corroborate, document, notarize, pin one's faith on, rely, trust), ‏حجز (attach, attachment, be taken, bespeak, bond, confine, confinement, derequisition, detain, detention, distrain, foreclose, have reservations, immure, impound, incarcerate, incarceration, keep, lock, mew, put away, recapture, reservation, reserve, restrain, retention, seize, seizure, sequester, sequestration, shut, staunch, stop, tackle), ‏تكلف (affect, affectation, artificiality, attitudinize, mannerism, mummery, pose, preciosity), ‏إصطنع (put on), ‏أجبر (bring, coerce, compel, drive, force, impress, make, oblige, overstrain, pressure, reduce, reset). (various references)

Bulgarian 

стягам (accouter, accoutre, bind, brace, compact, constrict, do up, gripe, hold in, hoop, impact, lace, lace up, lock, pack, pinch, preen, screw up, straiten, tense, tighten, trim, truss), хвърлям в затвора (gaol, imprison, jail), ограничавам (bound, chasten, circumscribe, contract, focalize, hem, immure, intern, limit, localise, localize, narrow, peg down, pinch, qualify, reduce, repress, restrict, specialize, straiten, tie down, trammel), затварям (case, cicatrize, close, douse, enclose, gaol, hem, house, immure, imprison, incarcerate, jail, latch, lock, lock up, mew, obturate, pen, prison, pull to, restrain, screw up, seal off, shut, shut away, shut in, shut up, stop, turn off), принуждавам (coerce, compel, drive, force, make, necessitate, oblige, overpersuade, pressure, pressurize, reduce, sandbag). (various references)

Chinese 

压抑 (Constrained, Constraining, Depressive, repressive). (various references)

Czech

přinutit (coerce, compel, extrude, force, make, reduce, will, work), nutit (drive, hustle, impel, oblige, press), krotit (curb, hamshackle, restrain, tame). (various references)

Dutch

hun ontwikkelingsaspiraties inperken (to constrain their development aspirations). (various references)

Farsi 

تحمیل کردن (Burden, Impose, Inflict, Protrude, Saddle, Task), بزوروفشاروادارکردن . (various references)

Finnish

pakottaa (ache, beat, bring, compel, emboss, force, make). (various references)

French

contraindre (coerce, compel), restreindre, obliger (commit, compel), forcer (coerce, compel). (various references)

German

zwingen (bludgeon, coerce, compel, drive, force, forcing, impel, make, oblige, to bludgeon, to coerce, to compel, to constrain, to force, to oblige, torture). (various references)

Greek 

εξαναγκάζω (bulldoze, coerce, compel, force, force into, make), αναγκάζω (bludgeon, coerce, compel, impel, necessitate, obligate). (various references)

Hebrew 

לאלץ (compel, force), להכריח (compel, dragoon, force, obligate, oblige). (various references)

Hungarian

kényszerít (coerce, compel, dragoon, force, oblige, to apply the screws, to coerce, to compel, to concuss, to constrain, to cow, to fag, to force sy into doing sg, to hijack, to necessitate, to oblige, to put the screws on, to will, to will sy into doing sg). (various references)

Indonesian

memaksa (coerce, enforce, force). (various references)

Italian

costringere (cause, coerce, compel, enforce, force, impose, make, pin down, press gang, push, will), vincolare (bind, link, pin, tie down, tie up), obbligare (bind, command, compel, engage, force, necessitate, obligate, oblige, require, to force), forzare (compel, force, force oneself, strain, stress, stretch). (various references)

Korean 

강요하십시요. (various references)

Manx

kiangley (anchoring, anchoring building, article, article to trade, attach, band, bandage, bandaging, belay, bend, bind, bind down, binding, bond, bow knot, bundle, compress, condition, condition terms, connect, constipate, dress, dressing, envoy, envoy of poem, fasten down, fastening, influence, involvement, juncture, link, lock, lock in, locking, make fast, nexus, obligation, pin, pinion, relationship, retain, retention, secure, shackle, stipulation, tether, tie, tie down, tie on, tie up, tying, vinculum), eignaghey (compel, oblige). (various references)

Pig Latin

onstraincay.(various references)

Portuguese

constranger (astrict, compel, concuss, force, oblige, put, urge), reprimir (allay, arrest, bit, bridle, check, coerce, control, cork, douse, forbear, gulp, halt, keep back, keep down, overbear, quell, quench, refrain, rein in, repress, restrain, stifle, stop, subdue, suppress, throttle, tutor, vanquish), obrigar (compel, determine, enforce, force, have, impose, obligate, oblige, obliging, put), formar (achieve, bounce, brigade, constitute, create, drive, educate, fashion, form, frame, hammer out, make up, mold, mould, perform, shape, spell, squash), aprisionar (capture, catch, confine, gaol, grapple, imprison, jail), apertar (belay, belt, brace, clasp, clip, clutch, constrict, grasp, jam, narrow, nip, oppress, pinch, press, ram, run, screw, squeeze, tamp, tighten, wring). (various references)

Romanian

constrânge (coerce, compel, force, hold, hustle, oblige), comprima (compress, condense, curb, hold, jam, pack, repress, sack, squash), strânge (accrete, accumulate, acerbate, acquire, agglomerate, amass, assemble, bind, call, chuck, clamp, clasp, clear, clench, close, collect, compress, concentrate, congregate, constrict, contract, converge, convolve, cramp, crop, crouch, crowd, crush, cull, cut, diminish, double, fasten, fold, force, garner, gather, glean, harvest, haul, hoard, house, hug, jam, lay aside, lay by, lay in, lay up, levy, lock, lump, make up, mass, muster, nip, pack, pick, pick up, pile, pile on, pinch, press, put away, put by, rake together, rake up, rally, reap, screw, shrink, shut, squeeze, stifle, stock, store, straighten, strain, straiten, suffocate, take up, tighten, troop, warehouse), sili (bind, coerce, compel, endeavor, endeavour, force, huff, necessitate, oblige, push on, squeeze, try, urge), restrânge (bound, confine, cut, diminish, drop, limit, localise, localize, narrow, narrow down, restrict, restriction, retrench), obliga (bind, coerce, compel, determine, dictate, enforce, engage, force, make, necessitate, obligate, oblige, plight, urge), forţa (break, compel, endeavor, endeavour, force, huff, impose, open, ravish, stretch, urge, violate). (various references)

Russian 

сдерживать (bottle up, check, coerce, control, dam back, hold back, hold in, hold in check, inhibit, keep, keep in check, moderate, rein back, rein in, repress, restrain), ограничивать (bound, circumscribe, confine, delimit, determine, enclose, hedge, inclose, limit, narrow, pinch, qualify, restrain, restrict, scanting, scrimp, set a limit, set bounds, specialize, stint, straiten, terminate), принуждать (bludgeon, coerce, enforce, impel, oblige). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

prinuditi (bulldoze, coerce, force, necessitate, oblige), ograničiti (confine, delimit, delimitate, limit, localise, localize, repress, restrict, stint, tie up). (various references)

Spanish

constreñir (restrict), restringir a (clamp, keep down), obligar (bind, coerce, compel, draft, draught, enforce, force, obligate, oblige, push, sandbag, tie down, trust), apretar (bind, clasp, clench, clutch, constrict, cramp, fasten, grasp, grip, hug, oppress, pack down, pinch, press, press down, pull, purse, push, push down, quicken, ram, screw, snuggle, squeeze, subtend, tighten, tighten up, turn, turn on). (various references)

Swedish

hindra (balk, bar, baulk, clog, contain, cramp, cross, cumber, curb, detain, embarrass, encumber, forbid, foreclose, hamper, hamstring, hedge, hinder, impede, inhibit, interfere with, keep back, obstruct, occlude, preclude, prevent, put back, short circuit, snag, stay, stymie, trammel, traverse). (various references)

Turkish

zorlamak (be urgent with smb., bludgeon, bully, clamor down, clamour down, coerce, compel, cow smb. into, cozen, do violence to, drag in, drive, edge on, enforce, exact, force, impel, impose, impress, lean upon, obligate, outrage, press, press-gang smb. into doing smth., pressure, push, push smb. for, railroad, railroad into doing, stampede, strain, stretch, subdue, sweat, twist smb.'s arm, urge, worry, wrest), tutmak (abide by, add up to, affect, Bate, be, bespeak, bind, book, catch, charter, check, choke, choke back, choke down, choke off, claw hold of, clench, clutch, cog, cohere, come to, confine, contain, cost, cramp, engage, Favor, favour, figure out at, fish, gather, get hold of, grapple, grasp, grip, guard, hang onto, hire, hire on, hold, hold back, hold in, hold on, hold on to, hold up, inhibit, intercept, keep, keep back, keep down, keep in, keep to, occupy, play, play on, play upon, possess, redeem, remand, reserve, restrain, retain, save, seize, seize on, stanchion, stick, stick to, stifle, strangle, support, take, take up, tot up, total, uphold, withhold, work out at), sınırlamak (bound, call off, circumscribe, confine, hedge, hedge about, hedge around, hem in, hold in, imprison, limit, line off, localize, qualify, restrain, restrict, straitjacket, terminate, tie), menetmek (ban, bar, debar, disable, disallow, disqualify, enjoin, estop, forbid, foreclose, interdict, prevent, prohobit, warn from, warn off), mecbur etmek (coerce, compel, cow smb. into, force, obligate, oblige, pin, pin down, railroad, railroad into doing, reduce, subject), baskı yapmak (bear against, coerce, constrict, force, impress, keep down, lean on, oppress, press, press for, press-gang smb. into doing smth., pressure, pressurize, push, put leverage on smb., put the bite on smb., sit upon, squeeze, stress, subdue, tyrannize, urge, urge against, use force), alıkoymak (check, deforce, delay, detain, disable, hinder, hold, hold up, incapacitate, intercept, keep, keep from, keep in, preclude, restrain, retain, retard, stay, stick, stop, withhold). (various references)

Ukrainian

стримувати (abate, bound, bridle, chasten, check, coerce, contain, control, curb, deter, dominate, hold in, inhibit, moderate, pocket, rein, restrain, stay, stop, suppress, swaddle, swallow, temper), ув'язнювати (confine, dungeon, embar, gaol, immure, imprison, incarcerate, jail, pound, prison, quod), примушувати (bring, cause, coerce, compel, concuss, enforce, force, oblige, squeeze, urge, will). (various references)

angariaverit, angariaverunt, coactare, constringere, strangulare. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words beginning with "constrain": constrained, constrainedly, constraining, constrains, constraint, constraints. (additional references)

Words containing "constrain": unconstrained, unconstraint, unconstraints. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Constrain" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: centromin, cestrian, Cointrin, constaine, constarin, constraine, Constrair, constrait, constratin, constri, Construzioni, consttain, contarini, contrain, costrain, Kunstraum. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: transonic.

-1 letter: actinons, canonist, carotins, contains, sanction, sonantic.

-2 letters: actinon, actions, anoints, aroints, atonics, cantons, cantors, carotin, cartons, cations, cistron, citrons, contain, contras, cortins, cratons, incants, introns, narcist, nations, natrons, nonarts, onanist, rations, stannic.

-3 letters: acorns, actins, action, actors, anions, anoint, antics, aorist, aortic, aristo, aroint, arsino, atonic, cairns, cannot, canons, canton, cantor, cantos, carton.

+1 letter: carnations, constrains, constraint, containers, crenations, transsonic.

+2 letters: ancestoring, cartoonings, concertinas, constrained, constraints, contrarians, contrasting, coronations, enunciators, infarctions, infractions, nonartistic, transaction, transection, truncations.

+3 letters: anacreontics, annunciators, anticonsumer, carbonations, centimorgans, conjurations, consecrating, consecration, conservation, conspiration, constraining, containerise, continuators, contractions, contraptions, contrariness, contrivances, conurbations, conversation, counterstain, crenelations, crenulations, criminations, cybernations, encrustation, fornications, incarnations, incinerators, incrustation, incurvations, interactions, intolerances, nonparasitic, nonrealistic, nonsectarian, nonstrategic, recantations, recombinants, transactions, transduction, transections, transfection, transoceanic, unconstraint.