1
as in forcing
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
constrained by conscience to tell only the truth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in regulating
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
constrained his anger at the needless interruption
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of constraining
Even in the most sophisticated organizations, however, fear is quietly constraining it.
—
Carolyn Dewar, Fortune, 1 Feb. 2026
Florida laws are constraining the choice of residents to install their own solar generation and storage capabilities.
—Bob Norberg, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2026
Electricity, which was abundant enough to be taken for granted, now looks like the bottleneck constraining everything from data centers to manufacturing.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 30 Dec. 2025
The AfD’s views on defense spending are deeply rooted in a nationalistic conception of German military power outside of constraining institutions such as the EU and NATO.
—Sudha David-Wilp, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2025
Equally constraining are government regulations and union philosophies that lock scopes of practice into place.
—Lawrence Rosenberg, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
In the past, the Federal Aviation Administration had long been the agency putting a ceiling on the height of many Miami-Dade towers, constraining developments in Sunny Isles Beach to 649 feet to facilitate airplanes landing at Miami-Opa-Locka Executive Airport.
—Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 1 Dec. 2025
The perception of what the larger American public would eat was a constraining factor.
—JSTOR Daily, 26 Nov. 2025
Majumdar’s characters’ choices would carry greater weight if the conditions constraining them were rendered with equal depth.
—Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025
Carolyn Dewar, Fortune, 1 Feb. 2026
Florida laws are constraining the choice of residents to install their own solar generation and storage capabilities.
—Bob Norberg, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2026
Electricity, which was abundant enough to be taken for granted, now looks like the bottleneck constraining everything from data centers to manufacturing.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 30 Dec. 2025
The AfD’s views on defense spending are deeply rooted in a nationalistic conception of German military power outside of constraining institutions such as the EU and NATO.
—Sudha David-Wilp, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2025
Equally constraining are government regulations and union philosophies that lock scopes of practice into place.
—Lawrence Rosenberg, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
In the past, the Federal Aviation Administration had long been the agency putting a ceiling on the height of many Miami-Dade towers, constraining developments in Sunny Isles Beach to 649 feet to facilitate airplanes landing at Miami-Opa-Locka Executive Airport.
—Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 1 Dec. 2025
The perception of what the larger American public would eat was a constraining factor.
—JSTOR Daily, 26 Nov. 2025
Majumdar’s characters’ choices would carry greater weight if the conditions constraining them were rendered with equal depth.
—Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for constraining
Verb
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In August 2024, students stormed her official residence, smashing walls and looting its contents, forcing her to flee into neighboring India and exile.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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In 2022, gilt markets were shaken when then-Prime Minister Liz Truss announced a swathe of unfunded tax cuts — forcing an intervention from the Bank of England and leading to Truss’ resignation after just 44 days into the job.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Trump was expected to have a much more hands-off approach to regulating business combinations.—
Jeff Marks,Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Environmental groups and concerned countries see regulating ship fuel as the only way to realistically reduce black carbon.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Guevara and two colleagues, then-detectives Michael Mason and Ernest Halvorson, then orchestrated a frame-up by coercing one witness to identify Rios by beating him with a phone book and flashlight, and another by threatening to charge him with obstruction, according to the plaintiffs’ allegations.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
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However, this kind of rethinking of coverage is not about coercing people to accept worse care in exchange for money.—
Jared Rhoads,
STAT,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Several students protested the club in December, claiming the program’s outside influence violates a section of the Equal Access Act prohibiting people outside a school from directing conduct, controlling or regularly attending student groups.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
-
In court and to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Mary Gingles repeatedly reported abusive and controlling behavior by Gingles, including threats to her life, in the months leading up to the murders.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The contempt proceedings are an initial step toward a criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice that, if successful, could send the Clintons to prison in a dispute over compelling them to testify before the House Oversight Committee.—
Stephen Groves,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2026
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In season four, Mike’s (Renner) control over Kingstown is threatened as new players compete to fill the power vacuum left in the Russians’ wake, compelling him to confront the resulting gang war and stop them from swallowing the town.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The plaintiffs argued that the surge was not genuinely aimed at curbing immigration violations, but was designed instead to coerce the cities and the state into participating in federal immigration enforcement, a violation of the 10th Amendment.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
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For instance, the tool’s training data draw largely from bulk tissue datasets, curbing its reliability in rare cell types or specific developmental stages, notes Christina Leslie, a computational biologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.—
Elie Dolgin,
IEEE Spectrum,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The unions argue that carrying out permanent layoffs during a funding lapse violates the Antideficiency Act, which bars agencies from obligating funds without congressional authorization, and exceeds executive authority under the Administrative Procedure Act.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
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This document, signed by a sponsor, is a legally enforceable contract obligating the sponsor to support the immigrant and prevent them from relying on public aid.—
Daniel Shoer Roth,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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At the same time, a salty liquid containing calcium chloride (a salt often used to de-ice roads) is pumped through the regenerator, which carries the heat away and ejects it to the surroundings on exit.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The National Institutes of Health reports that oregano oil repels bedbugs more effectively than commercial insecticides containing DEET.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Constraining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constraining. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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