Lexic.us

Definition of Constrain

1. Verb. Hold back.

Definition of Constrain

1. v. t. To secure by bonds; to chain; to bond or confine; to hold tightly; to constringe.

Definition of Constrain

1. Verb. (transitive) to force physically, by strong persuasion or pressurizing; to compel; to oblige ¹

2. Verb. (transitive) to keep within close bounds; to confine ¹

3. Verb. (transitive) to reduce a result in response to limited resources ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Constrain

1. [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Constrain

Literary usage of Constrain

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. United States Supreme Court Reports by Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company, United States Supreme Court (1912)
"Though the state of Kentucky may be int<r- ested in the performance of that duty, yet the writ will issue upon reasons of public pouer, simply to constrain ..."

2. Synonyms Discriminated: A Complete Catalogue of Synonymous Words in the by Charles John Smith (1871)
"To compel denotes a purely external force; but to constrain may be internal. I exercise force over myself when I constrain myself; and I lend myself to ..."

3. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1887)
".night constrain the reluctant and protect the distressed, and the im position of hands for ever bestowed some of the most valuable privileges of civil ..."

4. The Balancing of Engines by William Ernest Dalby (1902)
"The Force required to constrain Motion in a Circle. ... The force, in Ibs. weight, required to constrain a mass of M pounds to move in a circular path, ..."

5. An Examination of the Nature of the State: A Study in Political Philosophy by Westel Woodbury Willoughby (1896)
"... constrain, or protect any man, but what it has (sic) from the public sword: that is, from the united hands of that man, or assembly of men that hath the ..."

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