'Constraint' definitions:
Definition of 'constraint'
From: WordNet
noun
The state of being physically constrained; "dogs should be kept under restraint" [syn: constraint, restraint]
noun
A device that retards something's motion; "the car did not have proper restraints fitted" [syn: restraint, constraint]
noun
The act of constraining; the threat or use of force to control the thoughts or behavior of others
Definition of 'Constraint'
From: GCIDE
- Constraint \Con*straint"\, 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. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
- Not by constraint, but by my choice, I came. --Dryden.
- Syn: Compulsion; violence; necessity; urgency.
- Usage: Constraint, Compulsion. Constraint implies strong binding force; as, the constraint of necessity; the constraint of fear. Compulsion implies the exertion of some urgent impelling force; as, driven by compulsion. The former prevents us from acting agreeably to our wishes; the latter forces us to act contrary to our will. Compulsion is always produced by some active agent; a constraint may be laid upon us by the forms of civil society, or by other outward circumstances. --Crabb. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'constraint'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- 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