constrainedadj.
/kənˈstreɪnd/ 1. Of persons: Forced, acting under compulsion. Of actions, etc.: Brought about by compulsion.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > obedience > compulsion > [adjective] > compelled (of persons)
coactc1430
needyc1430
constrained1609
compulsive1611
obtruded1649
enforced1654
necessary1724
necessiated1727
compulsory1806
coerced1836
bulldozered1876
pressured1889
1609 S. Daniel Civile Wares (rev. ed.) iv. xxxix. 97 This weake constrayned company.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. iv. 13 None serue with him, but constrained things, Whose hearts are absent too. View more context for this quotation
1780 W. Cowper Table Talk 623 The mind, released from too constrained a nerve.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xx. 577 The breaking of a constrained oath.
2. Forced, as opposed to natural.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > [adjective] > absolutely compulsory > absolutely compelled
boundc1360
needyc1430
constrained1571
necessary1654
compulsory1806
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > inelegance > [adjective] > forced
high-strained1565
constrained1571
forced1583
overstrained1599
strained1609
epitonic1879
smart1899
1571 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Psalmes of Dauid with Comm. (xxxv. 20) Bothe theis seeme unto mee to alledge constreyned senses.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 7 Vnder Gam vt the voice seemed as a kinde of humming, and aboue E la a kinde of constrained skricking.
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. ix His rhyme is always constrain'd and forc'd, and comes hardly from him.
1761 L. Scrafton Refl. Govt. Indostan iii. 109 The Soubah..received him with a constrained graciousness.
1841 M. Elphinstone Hist. India I. i. i. 35 The constrained hospitality with which they are directed to prepare food..for a military man coming as a guest.
3. Of persons: Behaving under constraint, having the spontaneous and natural impulses checked, embarrassed.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > feeling of shame > [adjective] > embarrassed
confounded1362
awkward1713
embarrassed1756
constrained1801
gêné1806
1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 4 Notwithstanding all his efforts to be and to appear at ease, he was constrained and abashed.
4. Forcibly or unnaturally confined (physically), cramped.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [adjective] > compressing or constricting > compressed or constricted
compressedc1374
coarctate?a1475
nippit1535
comprimate?1541
coarctated1655
spanned1741
constricted1753
nipped1759
constrained1768
squeezed1831
pinched1836
scrunched1836
nipped1850
1768 W. Gilpin Ess. Prints 28 Every constrained posture [should be] avoided.
1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 128/2 When very weary, we sleep even in the most constrained positions.
1893 N.E.D. at Constrained Mod. Tight dresses mean constrained limbs.
5. Dynamics. Forced to move in a certain course.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > kinematics > [adjective] > restricted or restricting motion
constrained1856
constraining1856
1856 Tait & Steele Dynamics of Particle (1871) 386 A single particle subject to the action of any forces, and whose motion is either free, constrained, or resisted.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1571- get into one's hand
- get into one's head
- get into one's possession
- get into one's stride
- get into or reach double or three figures
- get into ribs
- get into someone's pants
- get into the act
- get into the saddle
- get into the spirit of
- get into the spirit of things
- get into trouble
- get it
- get it crunk
- get it hot
- get it in one
- get it in the neck
- get it into one's head
- get it krump
- get it off one's chest
- get it on
- get it on cold
- get it on him cold
- get it over with
- get it together