as in restrained
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1
as in compelled
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
constrained by conscience to tell only the truth
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2
as in controlled
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
constrained his anger at the needless interruption
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of constrained
Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Both fables and translations are forms of constrained writing.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
In these neighborhoods, mobility is a layered system of buses, elevated trains, commuter rail, pedestrians, bicycles and cars that all intersect in constrained corridors.
—Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
Meta also develops in-house silicon processors and utilizes chips from AMD, which won a notable deal with OpenAI in October as AI giants seek a second source to Nvidia amid constrained supply.
—Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
The scene from my dream is commonplace not only in my adopted home, the United States, and other liberal democracies, but even, in a constrained fashion, in the neighboring Turkey and Pakistan.
—Arash Azizi, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Without clean architectures and reliable data, AI initiatives remain constrained and fragile.
—Paul Baier, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
If engaging people with complex lives and constrained resources were easy, our study samples would already be diversified.
—Carrie Leach, The Conversation, 20 Jan. 2026
Even in this relatively constrained setting, targeting a peripheral nerve rather than the brain, significant hurdles remain.
—New Atlas, 16 Jan. 2026
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2026
But if the energy crisis of 2022 is any indication, supply-side measures might not be enough if the Middle East’s energy exports remain constrained.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
But around 1990, with the demand for crude oil ever growing, the Brent field started to run out of oil, which constrained trading.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 11 Mar. 2026
The newer, faster memory is constrained by a 92-bit memory bus, rather than the 128-bit bus on the original card, but that should still equate to 336 GBps of memory bandwidth, versus 320 GBps on the original RTX 5050.
—Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
While sports — a strong suit of Wasserman — has been growing along with valuations of teams and media rights fees, talent in entertainment and other areas has been constrained by corporate cutbacks.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
The disruption has forced some producers in the Middle East to cut output as storage tanks fill and export routes remain constrained.
—Travis Webb, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026
When aligning with constitutionalists constrained royal power and protected clerical autonomy, senior ayatollahs wore the mantle of democrats.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
California’s economy continues to outpace the nation in overall growth but remains constrained by sluggish hiring and an unemployment rate that has stayed elevated for nearly two years, a UCLA forecast said Wednesday.
—City News Service, Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
But his brain-imaging studies suggest that, during a psychedelic trip, communication between different regions of the brain becomes far less constrained than during normal consciousness, allowing new ways of thinking to emerge.
—Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Both fables and translations are forms of constrained writing.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
In these neighborhoods, mobility is a layered system of buses, elevated trains, commuter rail, pedestrians, bicycles and cars that all intersect in constrained corridors.
—Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
Meta also develops in-house silicon processors and utilizes chips from AMD, which won a notable deal with OpenAI in October as AI giants seek a second source to Nvidia amid constrained supply.
—Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
The scene from my dream is commonplace not only in my adopted home, the United States, and other liberal democracies, but even, in a constrained fashion, in the neighboring Turkey and Pakistan.
—Arash Azizi, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Without clean architectures and reliable data, AI initiatives remain constrained and fragile.
—Paul Baier, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
If engaging people with complex lives and constrained resources were easy, our study samples would already be diversified.
—Carrie Leach, The Conversation, 20 Jan. 2026
Even in this relatively constrained setting, targeting a peripheral nerve rather than the brain, significant hurdles remain.
—New Atlas, 16 Jan. 2026
Verb
If shipping remains constrained, supplies would need to be rerouted through alternative corridors or transported overland at far higher cost, analysts said.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2026
But if the energy crisis of 2022 is any indication, supply-side measures might not be enough if the Middle East’s energy exports remain constrained.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
But around 1990, with the demand for crude oil ever growing, the Brent field started to run out of oil, which constrained trading.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 11 Mar. 2026
The newer, faster memory is constrained by a 92-bit memory bus, rather than the 128-bit bus on the original card, but that should still equate to 336 GBps of memory bandwidth, versus 320 GBps on the original RTX 5050.
—Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
While sports — a strong suit of Wasserman — has been growing along with valuations of teams and media rights fees, talent in entertainment and other areas has been constrained by corporate cutbacks.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
The disruption has forced some producers in the Middle East to cut output as storage tanks fill and export routes remain constrained.
—Travis Webb, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026
When aligning with constitutionalists constrained royal power and protected clerical autonomy, senior ayatollahs wore the mantle of democrats.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
California’s economy continues to outpace the nation in overall growth but remains constrained by sluggish hiring and an unemployment rate that has stayed elevated for nearly two years, a UCLA forecast said Wednesday.
—City News Service, Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for constrained
Adjective
-
Downstairs, Bar Calico has a more restrained vibe.—
Wilder Davies,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Refined, deliberate, restrained.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This year, Israelis were compelled by circumstance to celebrate Purim in or near their bomb shelters.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
-
With former swing tackle Yosh Nijman retiring Wednesday, the Panthers were compelled to look elsewhere for Ekwonu insurance.—
Mike Kaye
Updated March 13,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Congress, controlled by Republicans, provided some $170 billion in last year's tax cuts bill to fuel the effort, more than tripling the budget of ICE.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The Congress, controlled by Republicans, provided some $170 billion in last year’s tax cuts bill to fuel the effort, more than tripling the budget of ICE.—
Joey Cappelletti,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Some players appeared inhibited, none more so than winger Leon Bailey.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Callie hangs out with her more inhibited best friend, Minnie Dunn, played spectacularly well by Katherine Mallen Kupferer.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Young people have the right to think for themselves rather than having conservative extremism forced upon them in class.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Fuel shortages have forced authorities to impose rolling electricity outages across the country and limit some public services.—
Jarrett Renshaw,
USA Today,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This is because the patches are marketed as supplements, meaning they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration or tested rigorously.—
Helena Kudiabor,
SELF,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Gambling is regulated at the state level, and since then a few others have approved Oscar betting — Michigan, Indiana, Arizona, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri and Puerto Rico.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Tel Aviv, Israel — Undermining this moment of relief for many repressed Iranians is that killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a perilously simple fix to a very complex problem.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
-
And that probably comes from seeing women in my life who have been so repressed that the eyes become their only real means of communication.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
However, in early 2026, Banegas claimed his attorneys coerced him into pleading guilty and sought to change his plea.—
Joan Murray,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Two similar situated individuals, both coerced to commit a murder have a different sentencing structure.—
Livi Stanford,
Hartford Courant,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Constrained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constrained. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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