constraint

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: con=straint

CIDE DICTIONARY

constraint, n. [OF. constrainte, F. constrainte.].

 The act of constraining, or the state of being constrained; that which compels to, or restrains from, action; compulsion; restraint; necessity.  [1913 Webster]
"Long imprisonment and hard constraint."  [1913 Webster]
"Not by constraint, but by my choice, I came."

Syn. -- Compulsion; violence; necessity; urgency.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

constraint, n.
1 the act or result of constraining or being constrained; restriction of liberty.
2 something that constrains; a limitation on motion or action.
3 the restraint of natural feelings or their expression; a constrained manner.

Etymology

ME f. OF constreinte, fem. past part. (as constrain)

THESAURUS

constraint

abnegation, abstinence, aloofness, aplomb, arrest, arrestation, backwardness, bashfulness, blankness, caging, calm, calmness, check, chilliness, circumscription, coaction, coercion, coldness, composure, compulsion, compulsiveness, confinement, conservatism, continence, control, cool, cooling, cooling down, cooling off, coolness, cramp, curb, curtailment, deceleration, denial, detachment, discipline, discreetness, discretion, dispassion, distance, drive, driving, duress, enforcement, evenness, exigency, expressionlessness, forbearance, forcing, frigidity, frostiness, frugality, gentleness, goad, golden mean, guardedness, happy medium, hindrance, iciness, impartiality, impassiveness, impassivity, impelling, impersonality, impoundment, impulse, impulsion, inaccessibility, independence, inevitability, inhibition, injunction, interdict, introversion, irresistibility, judiciousness, juste-milieu, legal restraint, lenity, lockup, meden agan, middle way, mildness, moderateness, moderation, moderationism, modesty, monopoly, motive, necessity, neutrality, nonviolence, nothing in excess, obligation, obligement, pacifism, penning, pinch, possession, press, pressure, prohibition, protection, protectionism, protective tariff, prudence, push, rash impulse, rationing, rein, remoteness, renouncement, renunciation, repose, repression, reserve, reservedness, restraint, restraint of trade, restriction, retardation, reticence, reticency, retirement, retiring disposition, retrenchment, self-abnegation, self-command, self-conquest, self-control, self-denial, self-discipline, self-government, self-mastery, self-possession, self-restraint, serenity, slowing down, soberness, sobriety, sophrosyne, spring, spur, stability, standoffishness, steadiness, stress, subduedness, suppression, tariff wall, temperance, temperateness, thought control, tranquillity, unaffability, unapproachability, uncongeniality, undemonstrativeness, unexcessiveness, unexpansiveness, unextravagance, unextremeness, urge, urgency, via media, violence, withdrawal, withdrawnness

ROGET THESAURUS

constraint

Compulsion

N compulsion, coercion, coaction, constraint, duress, enforcement, press, conscription, force, brute force, main force, physical force, the sword, ultima ratio, club law, lynch law, mob law, arguementum baculinum, le droit du plus fort, martial law, restraint, necessity, force majeure, Hobson's choice, compelling, coercive, coactive, inexorable, compulsory, compulsatory, obligatory, stringent, peremptory, forcible, not to be trifled with, irresistible, compelled, fain to, by force, by force of arms, on compulsion, perforce, vi et armis, under the lash, at the point of the sword, at the point of the bayonet, forcibly, by a strong arm, under protest, in spite of one's teeth, against one's will, nolens volens, by stress of circumstances, by stress of weather, under press of, de rigueur, with a gun to one's head, I'll make him an offer he can't refuse.

Subjection

N subjection, dependence, dependency, subordination, thrall, thralldom, thraldom, enthrallment, subjugation, bondage, serfdom, feudalism, feudality, vassalage, villenage, slavery, enslavement, involuntary servitude, conquest, service, servitude, servitorship, tendence, employ, tutelage, clientship, liability, constraint, oppression, yoke, submission, obedience, subject, dependent, subordinate, feudal, feudatory, in subjection to, under control, in leading strings, in harness, subjected, enslaved, constrained, downtrodden, overborne, overwhelmed, under the lash, on the hip, led by the nose, henpecked, the puppet of, the sport of, the plaything of, under one's orders, under one's command, under one's thumb, a slave to, at the mercy of, in the power of, in the hands of, in the clutches of, at the feet of, at one's beck and call, liable, parasitical, stipendiary, under, slaves - in a land of light and law.

Restraint

N restraint, hindrance, coercion, cohibition, constraint, repression, suppression, discipline, control, confinement, durance, duress, imprisonment, incarceration, coarctation, entombment, mancipation, durance vile, limbo, captivity, blockade, arrest, arrestation, custody, keep, care, charge, ward, restringency, curb, lettres de cachet, limitation, restriction, protection, monopoly, prohibition, prisoner, repressionist, restrained, constrained, imprisoned, pent up, jammed in, wedged in, under lock and key, under restraint, under hatches, in swaddling clothes, on parole, in custody, doing time, cohibitive, coactive, stiff, restringent, strait-laced, hidebound, barkbound, ice bound, wind bound, weather bound, cabined cribbed confined, in Lob's pound, laid by the heels.

Modesty

N modesty, humility, diffidence, timidity, retiring disposition, unobtrusiveness, bashfulness, mauvaise honte, blush, blushing, verecundity, self-knowledge, reserve, constraint, demureness, blushing honors, modest, diffident, humble, timid, timorous, bashful, shy, nervous, skittish, coy, sheepish, shamefaced, blushing, overmodest, unpretending, unpretentious, unobtrusive, unassuming, unostentatious, unboastful, unaspiring, poor in spirit, out of countenance, reserved, constrained, demure, humbly, quietly, privately, without ceremony, without beat of drum, sans fa, not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty, thy modesty's a candle to thy merit.