/ English Dictionary |
RESTRAINT
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of controlling by restraining someone or something
Example:
the unlawful restraint of trade
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("restraint" is a kind of...):
control (the activity of managing or exerting control over something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "restraint"):
collar; leash (a figurative restraint)
damper (a depressing restraint)
bridle; check; curb (the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess)
immobilisation; immobilization; immobilizing (the act of limiting movement or making incapable of movement)
confinement (the act of restraining of a person's liberty by confining them)
containment (the act of containing; keeping something from spreading)
curtailment; suppression (the act of withholding or withdrawing some book or writing from publication or circulation)
restraint of trade (any act that tends to prevent free competition in business)
confinement; restriction (the act of keeping something within specified bounds (by force if necessary))
Derivation:
restrain (prevent the action or expression of)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A device that retards something's motion
Example:
the car did not have proper restraints fitted
Synonyms:
constraint; restraint
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("restraint" is a kind of...):
device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "restraint"):
fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast (restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place)
gag; muzzle (restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting)
lead; leash; tether (restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal)
ignition lock; lock (a restraint incorporated into the ignition switch to prevent the use of a vehicle by persons who do not have the key)
muzzle (a leather or wire restraint that fits over an animal's snout (especially a dog's nose and jaws) and prevents it from eating or biting)
life belt; safety belt; safety harness (belt attaching you to some object as a restraint in order to prevent you from getting hurt)
drogue; sea anchor (restraint consisting of a canvas covered frame that floats behind a vessel; prevents drifting or maintains the heading into a wind)
bond; hamper; shackle; trammel (a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner))
trammel (a restraint that is used to teach a horse to amble)
chain (anything that acts as a restraint)
catch; stop (a restraint that checks the motion of something)
brake shoe; shoe; skid (a restraint provided when the brake linings are moved hydraulically against the brake drum to retard the wheel's rotation)
brake pad (one of the pads that apply friction to both sides of the brake disk)
brake (anything that slows or hinders a process)
brake (a restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle)
band (a restraint put around something to hold it together)
arrester; arrester hook (a restraint that slows airplanes as they land on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier)
airbrake; dive brake (a small parachute or articulated flap to reduce the speed of an aircraft)
air bag (a safety restraint in an automobile; the bag inflates on collision and prevents the driver or passenger from being thrown forward)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Example:
the room was simply decorated with great restraint
Synonyms:
chasteness; restraint; simpleness; simplicity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("restraint" is a kind of...):
plainness (the appearance of being plain and unpretentious)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Discipline in personal and social activities
Example:
she never lost control of herself
Synonyms:
control; restraint
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("restraint" is a kind of...):
discipline (the trait of being well behaved)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "restraint"):
self-restraint; temperateness (exhibiting restraint imposed on the self)
moderation; temperance (the trait of avoiding excesses)
inhibition (the quality of being inhibited)
continence (voluntary control over urinary and fecal discharge)
Antonym:
unrestraint (the quality of lacking restraint)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A rule or condition that limits freedom
Example:
restraints imposed on imports
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("restraint" is a kind of...):
limitation; restriction (a principle that limits the extent of something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "restraint"):
floodgate (something that restrains a flood or outpouring)
Sense 6
Meaning:
The state of being physically constrained
Example:
dogs should be kept under restraint
Synonyms:
constraint; restraint
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("restraint" is a kind of...):
confinement (the state of being confined)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "restraint"):
cage (something that restricts freedom as a cage restricts movement)
Derivation:
restrain (to close within bounds, or otherwise limit or deprive of free movement)
Context examples:
On the last night of my restraint, I was awakened by hearing my own name spoken in a whisper.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Carbohydrate Processing Inhibition consists of interference with, or restraint of, activities involved in assembly of carbohydrate-linked structures on cell surfaces, such as inhibition of enzymes responsible for the formation of these structures.
(Carbohydrate Processing Inhibition, NCI Thesaurus)
Well, pray do not let anybody here be a restraint on you.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
Stronger than the physical restraint of the stick was the clutch of the camp upon her.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Their presence was a restraint both on her and on Lucy.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Metastasis Suppression involves interference or restraint of the spread or migration of cancer cells from one part of the body (the organ in which it first appeared) to another.
(Metastasis Suppression, NCI Thesaurus)
His frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and firmness.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Cell Migration Inhibition involves interference with, or restraint of, active directed translocation of a whole cell, or cell body, from one site to another in response to a gradient.
(Cell Migration Inhibition Process, NCI Thesaurus)
Between Elizabeth and Charlotte there was a restraint which kept them mutually silent on the subject; and Elizabeth felt persuaded that no real confidence could ever subsist between them again.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
I shall hold myself strongly in leash, and see whether by this self-restraint I attain a more favorable result.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)