RESTRAINT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does restraint mean? 

• RESTRAINT (noun)
  The noun RESTRAINT has 6 senses:

1. the act of controlling by restraining someone or something

2. discipline in personal and social activities

3. the state of being physically constrained

4. a rule or condition that limits freedom

5. lack of ornamentation

6. a device that retards something's motion

  Familiarity information: RESTRAINT used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RESTRAINT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of controlling by restraining someone or something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the unlawful restraint of trade

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"):

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))

collar; leash (a figurative restraint)

Derivation:

restrain (prevent the action or expression of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Discipline in personal and social activities

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

control; restraint

Context example:

she never lost control of herself

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 3

Meaning:

The state of being physically constrained

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

constraint; restraint

Context example:

dogs should be kept under restraint

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)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A rule or condition that limits freedom

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

restraints imposed on imports

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 5

Meaning:

Lack of ornamentation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

chasteness; restraint; simpleness; simplicity

Context example:

the room was simply decorated with great restraint

Hypernyms ("restraint" is a kind of...):

plainness (the appearance of being plain and unpretentious)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A device that retards something's motion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

constraint; restraint

Context example:

the car did not have proper restraints fitted

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)

catch; stop (a restraint that checks the motion of something)

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)

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)

 Context examples 

Immune Cell Suppression consists of interference with, or restraint of, the activity of one or more lymphoid or myeloid cell types associated with the immune response.

(Negative Regulation of Immune Cell Activation, NCI Thesaurus)

You will find, whenever the subject becomes freed from its present restraints, that it did not take her wholly by surprize.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

She meant to warn him that Laurie would not bear much restraint, and hoped he would be more forebearing with the lad.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Lymphocyte Suppression involves interference with, or restraint of, the production and activity of lymphocytes.

(Negative Regulation of Lymphocyte Activation, NCI Thesaurus)

Not it: she will be a restraint.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

They were no sooner in the hall than all restraint of countenance was over on Miss Crawford's side.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Myeloid Cell Suppression involves interference with, or restraint of, the production and activity of myeloid cells.

(Negative Regulation of Myeloid Cell Activation, NCI Thesaurus)

Exocytosis Inhibition involves interference with, or restraint of, the cellular release of secretory products granules.

(Exocytosis Inhibition, NCI Thesaurus)

Folic Acid Metabolism Inhibition involves interference with, or restraint of, the activities of enzymatic biotransforming chemical modifications of folic acid.

(Folic Acid Metabolism Inhibition, NCI Thesaurus)

Enzyme Inhibition involves interference with, or restraint of, the function of a biological molecule that possesses catalytic activity.

(Enzyme Inhibition, NCI Thesaurus)