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Constraint   /kənstrˈeɪnt/   Listen
noun
Constraint  n.  The act of constraining, or the state of being constrained; that which compels to, or restrains from, action; compulsion; restraint; necessity. "Long imprisonment and hard constraint." "Not by constraint, but by my choice, I came."
Synonyms: Compulsion; violence; necessity; urgency. Constraint, Compulsion. Constraint implies strong binding force; as, the constraint of necessity; the constraint of fear. Compulsion implies the exertion of some urgent impelling force; as, driven by compulsion. The former prevents us from acting agreeably to our wishes; the latter forces us to act contrary to our will. Compulsion is always produced by some active agent; a constraint may be laid upon us by the forms of civil society, or by other outward circumstances.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Constraint" Quotes from Famous Books



... point he never wavered. All attempts to make him formally consent to the treaty of November, 1905, were in vain. "I would sooner die first!" he cried. "I would sooner take poison and end all!" In July, 1906, the Marquis Ito began to exercise stronger constraint on the personal life of the Emperor. One evening a number of Japanese police were brought into the palace. The old palace guards were withdrawn, and the Emperor was made virtually a prisoner. Police officers were posted at each gate, and no one was allowed in or out without a permit from ...
— Korea's Fight for Freedom • F.A. McKenzie

... kind questions about the delinquent tooth, but the answers were short; and, to put an end to the general constraint, she asked Lucy to show ...
— The Young Step-Mother • Charlotte M. Yonge

... especially those in power, to take steps for its continuance. Rewards might then be held out, like the jus trium liberorum instituted at Rome by Augustus; and if necessary, penalties inflicted on celibacy. In this one extreme case the matrimonial union might be made matter of legal constraint. But when will such ...
— Moral Philosophy • Joseph Rickaby, S. J.

... his breath, but again checked himself just in time to prevent the words "and wives," that rose to his lips. "And friends," he substituted, with evident constraint and as awkwardly as before. It was not often that a woman had been able to disconcert Edgar Harrowby so strangely as did this ignorant and innocent ...
— Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 99, March, 1876 • Various

... to the king her father, "you have an inclination to see me married, and think to oblige me by it; but where shall I find such stately palaces and delicious gardens as I have with your majesty? Through your good pleasure I am under no constraint, and have the same honours shown to me as are paid to yourself. These are advantages I cannot expect to find anywhere else, to whatsoever husband I should give my hand; men love ever to be masters, and I do not care ...
— Fairy Tales From The Arabian Nights • E. Dixon


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