constrains

verb

present tense third-person singular of constrain
1
as in compels
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure constrained by conscience to tell only the truth

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in regulates
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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of constrains Our region faces real and serious challenges, including gun violence, neighborhood disinvestment, growing wealth disparity, population stagnation and a fiscal burden that constrains public investment. — Andrea Sáenz, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026 Better Decisions, Earlier What constrains superintendents is how much time every day gets consumed by documentation and piecing together what happened, rather than applying that judgment to what comes next. — Mike Winn, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 The fact that Starlink PNT is limited to communication with a single satellite at a time also constrains performance, whereas receiving multiple satellite measurement signals from many different angles could improve its accuracy. — Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 11 May 2026 Meanwhile, Europe is grappling with higher energy prices as the Iran conflict severely constrains oil exports from the Middle East. — Joe Walsh, CBS News, 29 Apr. 2026 That deeply constrains everything that occurs in the show’s first outing, which can’t see Mike, El, Dustin, Lucas, or Max grow as characters in ways that bump up against their arcs from the original show, or let the new addition Nikki (Odessa A’zion) become too firmly entrenched in their lives. — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 24 Apr. 2026 But when resistance is too high, when something constrains electron flow through the mitochondria, the system backs up. — Jasna Hodžić, Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026 This includes other priority areas along the Florida Wildlife Corridor where development constrains animal movement. — Eve Bohnett, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2026 Limited access constrains health care, education, digital connectivity and job creation. — ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for constrains
  1. compels
  2. regulates
  3. forces
  4. contains
  5. coerces
  6. controls
  7. obliges
  8. restrains
Verb
  • Every drop hits like a quake, and each muscular beat compels you to shake your ass.
    — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 17 July 2026
  • Further, since a charging order compels an LLC to re-direct distribution payments to the creditor, the appeals court further mused that such was enough to create standing since the LLCs needed to know who to pay.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of compels
Verb
  • This department oversees and regulates restaurants across Sacramento County, conducting food inspections and issuing food permits.
    — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 23 July 2026
  • The Department of Agriculture, which regulates poultry and most red meats, has lost about ten per cent of its food-safety-and-inspection team.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 23 July 2026
Definition of regulates
Verb
  • Rocca forces the playoff by sinking a 65-foot putt on the 18th hole.
    — Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026
  • No one forces us to perform the role, the financial rewards for those who make the international list are considerable, and for the most part the enjoyment found on the field makes up for the plentiful aggro off it.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 23 July 2026
Definition of forces
Verb
  • His personal Facebook contains one post addressing his candidacy.
    — Sophie Lindberg July 27, Kansas City Star, 27 July 2026
  • Oodi contains books, but describing it only as a library misses the point.
    — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of contains
Verb
  • However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
Definition of coerces
Verb
  • The five-member HOA board controls the building; all officers are in the Airbnb business.
    — Joan Chrissos, Miami Herald, 28 July 2026
  • Whenever a single jurisdiction controls a dominant share of processing or refining capacity, investors should assume that export control risk exists, even if markets are not currently pricing it in.
    — Anthony Milewski, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of controls
Verb
  • That emergency obliges all of us — critical filmmakers, activists, big and small festivals — to be more courageous.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 18 June 2026
  • The court replaced it with a read-in version that obliges parliament to refer a panel’s findings to the impeachment committee, which is responsible for conducting a full inquiry into the hearing evidence, determining whether grounds exist to remove a sitting president.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 8 May 2026
Definition of obliges
Verb
  • Remarkably, state law also severely restrains cities and counties from setting their own regulations, giving local leaders little sway over local gun policies.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
  • The result is an economic model that favors producers, restrains consumers, and floods international markets with supercheap exports, including steel, solar panels, and electric vehicles.
    — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
Definition of restrains

Browse Nearby Words

constraining
constrains
constraint
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Constrains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constrains. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on constrains

Nglish: Translation of constrains for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of spindrift

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All