1.
[syn: constrained, forced, strained]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Constrain \Con*strain"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Constrained; p.
pr. & vb. n. Constraining.] [OF. constraindre, F.
contrainde, L. constringere; con- + stringere to draw tight.
See Strain, and. cf. Constrict, Constringe.]
1. To secure by bonds; to chain; to bond or confine; to hold
tightly; to constringe.
[1913 Webster]
He binds in chains
The drowsy prophet, and his limbs constrains.
--Dryden.
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When winter frosts constrain the fields with cold.
--Dryden.
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2. To bring into a narrow compass; to compress.
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How the strait stays the slender waist constrain.
--Gay.
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3. To hold back by force; to restrain; to repress.
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My sire in caves constrains the winds. --Dryden.
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4. To compel; to force; to necessitate; to oblige.
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The love of Christ constraineth us. --2. Cor. v.
14.
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I was constrained to appeal unto C[ae]sar. --Acts
xxviii. 19.
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5. To violate; to ravish. [Obs.] --Shak.
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6. To produce in such a manner as to give an unnatural
effect; as, a constrained voice.
Syn: To compel; force; drive; impel; urge; press.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Constrained \Con*strained"\, a.
Marked by constraint; not free; not voluntary; embarrassed;
as, a constrained manner; a constrained tone.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
constrained
adj 1: lacking spontaneity; not natural; "a constrained smile";
"forced heartiness"; "a strained smile" [syn:
constrained, forced, strained]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
70 Moby Thesaurus words for "constrained":
Olympian, aloof, arrested, backward, bashful, blank, bridled,
chastened, chilled, chilly, cold, controlled, cool, curbed,
detached, discreet, distant, expressionless, forbidding, frigid,
frosty, guarded, hushed, icy, impassive, impersonal, in check,
in control, in hand, in leading strings, in remission,
inaccessible, incommunicable, inhibited, introverted, limited,
modest, noncommittal, offish, on leash, pent-up, quelled, quiet,
remote, removed, repressed, reserved, restrained, retarded,
reticent, retiring, shrinking, slowed down, softened, stable,
standoff, standoffish, subdued, suppressed, tempered, unaffable,
unapproachable, uncongenial, undemonstrative, under control,
under discipline, under restraint, unexpansive, ungenial,
withdrawn