Constraint
[kən'streɪnt] or [kən'strent]
Definition
(noun.) the act of constraining; the threat or use of force to control the thoughts or behavior of others.
(noun.) the state of being physically constrained; 'dogs should be kept under restraint'.
Typed by Larry--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The act of constraining, or the state of being constrained; that which compels to, or restrains from, action; compulsion; restraint; necessity.
Edited by Estelle
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Compulsion, force, necessity, obligation, coercion.[2]. Confinement, restraint, imprisonment, incarceration, inthralment, durance, duress, captivity.
Checked by Angelique
Examples
- But as he reflects when he is left alone, the woman has been putting no common constraint upon herself. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- He was too much in earnest now to feel any false constraint in speaking his mind. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- I look forward, my dear, to our meeting easily and without constraint on either side. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- He felt a sharp constraint. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- A week elapsed, leaving us all three still in this position of secret constraint towards one another. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- There being not the least constraint in his manner, there was none (or I think there was none) in mine. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- But she caused a constraint over Ursula's nature, a certain weariness. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The tinge of constraint was beginning to be more distinctly perceptible under the friendly ease of his manner. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- The name, in Loerke's mouth particularly, had been an intolerable humiliation and constraint upon her, these many days. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The constraint that had been put upon me, was quite abandoned. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- She glanced shyly at Lily, asking in an embarrassed tone how she felt; Lily answered with the same constraint, and raised herself up to drink the tea. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Always a feeling of constraint came over me; always I was disposed to be stern and strange. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- The stir of the pulses which his nearness always caused was increased by a slight sense of constraint. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- A true Tartarean dignity sat upon her brow, and not factitiously or with marks of constraint, for it had grown in her with years. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- There is no constraint upon you, I hope. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
Editor: Sonya