straitjacket

variants also straightjacket
as in confinement
a jacket that has long arms which can be tied together behind someone's back and that is used to control the movement (as of a violent prisoner or patient) The magician struggled to free his arms from the straitjacket and escape from the tank of water he was submerged in.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 straitjacket The music video may cause initial backlash among those concerned about propagating mental health stigmas by featuring images of a person in a straitjacket. Ingrid Fajardo, Billboard, 10 Jan. 2025 Rope, leather, buckles, straitjackets, Lycra, latex, gas masks, ball gags. Jessica Furseth, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025 Neither immediately opened, yet the play was anything but over; Jackson, one of the league’s most elusive playmakers, has slipped a defense’s apparent straitjacket many times before on the way to becoming the NFL’s two-time Most Valuable Player. Andrew Greif, NBC News, 17 Nov. 2024 This means that the straitjacket of sanctions has been loosened for Kim. Daniel R. Russel, Foreign Affairs, 12 June 2018 See All Example Sentences for straitjacket
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straitjacket
Noun
  • His wife, Kimberly Maddox, 44, was sentenced to 12 months, including time in home confinement.
    Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Federal judge Reed O’Connor dismissed Tarrant County and six jailers listed as defendants from the lawsuit in early February, citing the plaintiffs’ failure to show that Johnson’s death was a result of conditions of confinement, such as overcrowding.
    Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Tax Day is coming this week and restaurant chains across the country are offering customers freebies and discounts to celebrate the occasion.
    Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The theater chain announced on social media that the special screenings will take place on Sunday, April 20.
    Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • But the Knicks can’t fall for the trap, and Brunson, who finished with 34 points on 12-of-27 shooting from the field to go with eight assists on the night, had a frustrating start to his evening.
    Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 20 Apr. 2025
  • Europe is wary of sleepwalking back into the trap of reliance on Russian energy resources that caused an energy crisis at the outset of the 2022 invasion and mounting speculation that Europe might reopen its taps has sparked pushback from key European voices.
    Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • It’s finished with a straight point collar and buttoned barrel cuffs.
    Jamie Allison Sanders, People.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Fighters such as heavyweight world champions Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois, and super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, walk through the doors of the palatial Old Royal Naval College, tuxedo collars straining atop their muscled necks.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Straitjacket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straitjacket. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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