constrained

4 definitions found

constrained - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Constrain \Con*strain"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Constrained; p.
     pr. & vb. n. Constraining.] [OF. constraindre, F.
     contrainde, L. constringere; con- + stringere to draw tight.
     See Strain, and. cf. Constrict, Constringe.]
     1. To secure by bonds; to chain; to bond or confine; to hold
        tightly; to constringe.
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              He binds in chains
              The drowsy prophet, and his limbs constrains.
                                                    --Dryden.
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              When winter frosts constrain the fields with cold.
                                                    --Dryden.
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     2. To bring into a narrow compass; to compress.
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              How the strait stays the slender waist constrain.
                                                    --Gay.
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     3. To hold back by force; to restrain; to repress.
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              My sire in caves constrains the winds. --Dryden.
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     4. To compel; to force; to necessitate; to oblige.
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              The love of Christ constraineth us.   --2. Cor. v.
                                                    14.
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              I was constrained to appeal unto C[ae]sar. --Acts
                                                    xxviii. 19.
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     5. To violate; to ravish. [Obs.] --Shak.
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     6. To produce in such a manner as to give an unnatural
        effect; as, a constrained voice.
  
     Syn: To compel; force; drive; impel; urge; press.
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  Constrained \Con*strained"\, a.
     Marked by constraint; not free; not voluntary; embarrassed;
     as, a constrained manner; a constrained tone.
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constrained - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  constrained
      adj 1: lacking spontaneity; not natural; "a constrained smile";
             "forced heartiness"; "a strained smile" [syn:
             constrained, forced, strained]

constrained - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  70 Moby Thesaurus words for "constrained":
     Olympian, aloof, arrested, backward, bashful, blank, bridled,
     chastened, chilled, chilly, cold, controlled, cool, curbed,
     detached, discreet, distant, expressionless, forbidding, frigid,
     frosty, guarded, hushed, icy, impassive, impersonal, in check,
     in control, in hand, in leading strings, in remission,
     inaccessible, incommunicable, inhibited, introverted, limited,
     modest, noncommittal, offish, on leash, pent-up, quelled, quiet,
     remote, removed, repressed, reserved, restrained, retarded,
     reticent, retiring, shrinking, slowed down, softened, stable,
     standoff, standoffish, subdued, suppressed, tempered, unaffable,
     unapproachable, uncongenial, undemonstrative, under control,
     under discipline, under restraint, unexpansive, ungenial,
     withdrawn