restrain
verb /rɪˈstreɪn/
/rɪˈstreɪn/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they restrain | /rɪˈstreɪn/ /rɪˈstreɪn/ |
| he / she / it restrains | /rɪˈstreɪnz/ /rɪˈstreɪnz/ |
| past simple restrained | /rɪˈstreɪnd/ /rɪˈstreɪnd/ |
| past participle restrained | /rɪˈstreɪnd/ /rɪˈstreɪnd/ |
| -ing form restraining | /rɪˈstreɪnɪŋ/ /rɪˈstreɪnɪŋ/ |
- to stop somebody/something from doing something, especially by using physical force
- restrain somebody/something The prisoner had to be restrained by the police.
- He placed a restraining hand on her arm.
- restrain somebody/something from (doing) something They have obtained an injunction restraining the company from selling the product.
- I had to restrain her from hitting out at passers-by.
Extra Examples- She had to be physically restrained.
- The horse must be properly restrained in a location where it would not hurt itself.
- He had to be forcibly restrained by team-mates.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- barely
- properly
- forcibly
- …
- be unable to
- can no longer
- cannot
- …
- from
- an attempt to restrain somebody
- an effort to restrain somebody
- to stop yourself from feeling an emotion or doing something that you would like to do
- restrain something John managed to restrain his anger.
- I restrained the urge to punch him.
- restrain yourself (from something/from doing something) She had to restrain herself from crying out in pain.
- I was tempted to answer back, but I restrained myself.
Extra Examples- I barely restrained myself from hitting him.
- She could not restrain a flash of pride.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- barely
- properly
- forcibly
- …
- be unable to
- can no longer
- cannot
- …
- from
- an attempt to restrain somebody
- an effort to restrain somebody
- restrain something to stop something that is growing or increasing from becoming too large synonym bring/get/keep something under control
- The government is taking steps to restrain inflation.
- Economic growth first induced, then restrained population growth.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French restreign-, stem of restreindre, from Latin restringere, from re- ‘back’ + stringere ‘to tie, pull tight’.