restrain
re·strain
(rĭ-strān′)tr.v. re·strained, re·strain·ing, re·strains
1.
a. To hold back or keep in check; control: was able restrain his emotions.
b. To prevent (a person or group) from doing something or acting in a certain way: She was restrained from selling the house by her fond memories.
2. To hold, fasten, or secure so as to prevent or limit movement: hair restrained by a bandana; a child restrained by a seat belt.
[Middle English restreinen, from Old French restraindre, restreign-, from Latin restringere, to bind back; see restrict.]
re·strain′a·ble adj.
re·strain′ed·ly (-strā′nĭd-lē) adv.
re·strain′er n.
Synonyms: restrain, curb, check, bridle, inhibit
These verbs mean to hold back or keep under control. Restrain implies restriction or limitation, as on one's freedom of action: "a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another" (Thomas Jefferson).
To curb is to restrain as if with reins: "As a teacher he was rather dull. He curbed his own enthusiasms, finding that they distracted his attention" (E.M. Forster).
Check implies arresting or stopping, often suddenly: "Knowing that Lily disliked to be caressed, she had long ago learned to check her demonstrative impulses toward her friend" (Edith Wharton).
To bridle is often to hold in or govern one's emotions or passions: I tried hard to bridle my anger. Inhibit usually connotes a check on one's actions, thoughts, or emotions: A fear of strangers inhibited his ability to travel.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
restrain
(rɪˈstreɪn)vb (tr)
1. to hold (someone) back from some action, esp by force
2. to deprive (someone) of liberty, as by imprisonment
3. to limit or restrict
[C14 restreyne, from Old French restreindre, from Latin rēstringere to draw back tightly, from re- + stringere to draw, bind; see strain1]
reˈstrainable adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
re•strain
(rɪˈstreɪn)v.t.
1. to hold back from action; check or control; repress.
2. to deprive of liberty, as by arrest; confine.
3. to limit or hamper the activity, growth, or effect of: to restrain trade with Cuba.
[1350–1400; restreynen < Middle French restreindre < Latin restringere to bind back, bind fast =re- re- + stringere to draw together; compare strain1]
re•strain′a•ble, adj.
re•strain`a•bil′i•ty, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
restrain
Past participle: restrained
Gerund: restraining
| Imperative |
|---|
| restrain |
| restrain |
| Present |
|---|
| I restrain |
| you restrain |
| he/she/it restrains |
| we restrain |
| you restrain |
| they restrain |
| Preterite |
|---|
| I restrained |
| you restrained |
| he/she/it restrained |
| we restrained |
| you restrained |
| they restrained |
| Present Continuous |
|---|
| I am restraining |
| you are restraining |
| he/she/it is restraining |
| we are restraining |
| you are restraining |
| they are restraining |
| Present Perfect |
|---|
| I have restrained |
| you have restrained |
| he/she/it has restrained |
| we have restrained |
| you have restrained |
| they have restrained |
| Past Continuous |
|---|
| I was restraining |
| you were restraining |
| he/she/it was restraining |
| we were restraining |
| you were restraining |
| they were restraining |
| Past Perfect |
|---|
| I had restrained |
| you had restrained |
| he/she/it had restrained |
| we had restrained |
| you had restrained |
| they had restrained |
| Future |
|---|
| I will restrain |
| you will restrain |
| he/she/it will restrain |
| we will restrain |
| you will restrain |
| they will restrain |
| Future Perfect |
|---|
| I will have restrained |
| you will have restrained |
| he/she/it will have restrained |
| we will have restrained |
| you will have restrained |
| they will have restrained |
| Future Continuous |
|---|
| I will be restraining |
| you will be restraining |
| he/she/it will be restraining |
| we will be restraining |
| you will be restraining |
| they will be restraining |
| Present Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I have been restraining |
| you have been restraining |
| he/she/it has been restraining |
| we have been restraining |
| you have been restraining |
| they have been restraining |
| Future Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I will have been restraining |
| you will have been restraining |
| he/she/it will have been restraining |
| we will have been restraining |
| you will have been restraining |
| they will have been restraining |
| Past Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I had been restraining |
| you had been restraining |
| he/she/it had been restraining |
| we had been restraining |
| you had been restraining |
| they had been restraining |
| Conditional |
|---|
| I would restrain |
| you would restrain |
| he/she/it would restrain |
| we would restrain |
| you would restrain |
| they would restrain |
| Past Conditional |
|---|
| I would have restrained |
| you would have restrained |
| he/she/it would have restrained |
| we would have restrained |
| you would have restrained |
| they would have restrained |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Verb | 1. | restrain - keep under control; keep in check; "suppress a smile"; "Keep your temper"; "keep your cool" hold - keep from exhaling or expelling; "hold your breath" confine - prevent from leaving or from being removed bottle up, suppress, inhibit - control and refrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behavior curb, hold in, control, moderate, contain, check, hold - lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger" |
| 2. |  restrain - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends"tighten, reduce - narrow or limit; "reduce the influx of foreigners" tie - limit or restrict to; "I am tied to UNIX"; "These big jets are tied to large airports" gate - restrict (school boys') movement to the dormitory or campus as a means of punishment draw a line, draw the line - reasonably object (to) or set a limit (on); "I draw the line when it comes to lending money to friends!" mark off, mark out - set boundaries to and delimit; "mark out the territory" hamper, cramp, halter, strangle - prevent the progress or free movement of; "He was hampered in his efforts by the bad weather"; "the imperialist nation wanted to strangle the free trade between the two small countries" tighten up, constrain, stiffen, tighten - restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations" clamp down, crack down - repress or suppress (something regarded as undesirable); "The police clamped down on illegal drugs" inhibit - limit the range or extent of; "Contact between the young was inhibited by strict social customs" curb, hold in, control, moderate, contain, check, hold - lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger" | |
| 3. | restrain - to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement; "This holds the local until the express passengers change trains"; "About a dozen animals were held inside the stockade"; "The illegal immigrants were held at a detention center"; "The terrorists held the journalists for ransom" disable, disenable, incapacitate - make unable to perform a certain action; "disable this command on your computer" tie down, tie up, truss, bind - secure with or as if with ropes; "tie down the prisoners"; "tie up the old newspapers and bring them to the recycling shed" enchain - restrain or bind with chains impound, pound - place or shut up in a pound; "pound the cows so they don't stray" pound up, pound - shut up or confine in any enclosure or within any bounds or limits; "The prisoners are safely pounded" pen up, fold - confine in a fold, like sheep ground - confine or restrict to the ground; "After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot" | |
| 4. | restrain - hold back confine, limit, throttle, trammel, restrain, restrict, bound - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends" bridle - put a bridle on; "bridle horses" curb - keep to the curb; "curb your dogs" clog - impede the motion of, as with a chain or a burden; "horses were clogged until they were tamed" | |
| 5. | restrain - to compel or deter by or as if by threats daunt, frighten away, frighten off, scare away, scare off, pall, scare, dash - cause to lose courage; "dashed by the refusal" discourage - deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
restrain
verb
1. hold back, hold, control, check, contain, prevent, restrict, handicap, confine, curb, hamper, rein, harness, subdue, hinder, constrain, curtail, bridle, debar, keep under control, have on a tight leash, straiten He grabbed my arm, partly to restrain me.
hold back help, encourage, assist, incite, urge on, gee up
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
restrain
verbTo control, restrict, or arrest:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَكْظُم، يَكْبَح، يَمْنَع
krotitovládat
beherske sigholde tilbage
halda aftur af
apvaldīt
zadržati
engellemekmâni olmak
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
restrain
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
restrain
(rəˈstrein) verbto prevent from doing something; to control. He was so angry he could hardly restrain himself; He had to be restrained from hitting the man; He restrained his anger with difficulty.
reˈstrained adjectivecontrolling, or able to control, one's feelings.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
restrain
vt (a patient) sujetar, inmovilizar, contener (a un paciente), restringir la libertad de movimiento (de un paciente, para que no se haga daño a sí mismo o a los demás)
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.