1.To secure by bonds; to chain; to bond or confine; to hold tightly; to constringe. "He binds in chains The drowsy prophet, and his limbs constrains." "When winter frosts constrain the fields with cold."
2.To bring into a narrow compass; to compress. "How the strait stays the slender waist constrain."
3.To hold back by force; to restrain; to repress. "My sire in caves constrains the winds."
4.To compel; to force; to necessitate; to oblige. "The love of Christ constraineth us." "I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar."
5.To violate; to ravish. (Obs.)
6.To produce in such a manner as to give an unnatural effect; as, a constrained voice.
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