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

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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 The trailer shows Elisabeth, the Empress of Austria (Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu), fighting for her heart, health and voice, as the Viennese court constrains her. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026 This further constrains the supply of homes available to buyers. — Sheldon H. Jacobson, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026 In Quadlin and Rudel’s article, a student might become interested in the idea of student debt as either a responsibility that motivates them or a liability that constrains them. — Saurabh Anand, JSTOR Daily, 24 Sep. 2026 Fiscal Dominance Changes The Objective Fiscal dominance describes a regime in which the scale of public debt and deficits constrains monetary policy. — Dave Birnbaum, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Advertisement The trouble with military hegemony The dominant role of Pakistan’s military further constrains political space. — Aqil Shah, Time, 17 Aug. 2026 In many ways, this constrains AI to human patterns of thinking. — IEEE Spectrum, 17 Aug. 2026 So, that really constrains the number in the House at the outset. — CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026 There are others, however, who disagree – arguing that the harms caused by gun deaths, drug abuse and overdose, and the spread of preventable disease require regulation that constrains or prohibits completely people’s freedom to choose. — Jen Cole Wright, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for constrains
  1. compels
  2. regulates
  3. forces
  4. contains
  5. coerces
  6. controls
  7. obliges
  8. restrains
Verb
  • Not the kind of empathy that simply allows someone to understand another person’s struggles, but the kind that compels them to do something about it.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Here, Hendrikx plays anthropologist to a culture that compels each of us—whether a rider or not—to find our own vehicle for fulfillment, then take it to redline.
    — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of compels
Verb
  • Doctors point to how the body regulates its own temperature at night, and how a cozy pair of socks can nudge that process along.
    — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Every few years, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, which regulates the sport, makes the teams redesign their cars.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of regulates
Verb
  • Some voting laws have changed in Ohio since 2022, including the state eliminating its grace period for receiving mail ballots, a change that forces voters to return those ballots earlier.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • This book forces us to consider how clothing can communicate identity without the body, or gestures, or the visage, but rather through arrangement and spatial orientation.
    — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of forces
Verb
  • This floor also contains a guest bedroom and bathroom, staff quarters, laundry and a security room.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2026
  • This spice contains plant compounds called gingerols and shogaols, which help lower the level of inflammatory proteins in the body and block inflammation from occurring.
    — Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 26 Oct. 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
  • Six in 10 families can’t afford the basic cost of living in the battleground districts that will determine which party controls the House, a Washington Post analysis has found.
    — Amy L. Wong, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Although Chen Mechan is accused of firing on the Salvadoran’s vehicles, sources said its heavily armed men received backup from Joseph’s 400 Mawozo, which controls the neighboring territory.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of controls
Verb
  • The stabs at humor also fall flat, even if the gimmick of a priest injecting his enemies with a serum that obliges them to attend mass every Sunday is kind of fun the first time, but not really the second or third.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026
  • And Ric Salinas, who plays Chachalacani, humorously obliges, bringing his Culture Clash vaudeville skills to the role of the sentry who’s caught between the rock of Klion’s tyranny and his fellow feeling for Antíkona’s sympathetic cause.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of obliges
Verb
  • Farther down, the levee that restrains the rivers is a low line of trees into the horizon.
    — Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The constitutional exclusionary rule restrains government, not private parties, so the Fourth Amendment generally does not bar evidence wrongfully obtained by a private actor.
    — Jihun Joun, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of restrains

Browse Nearby Words

constraining
constrains
constraint
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Cite this Entry

“Constrains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constrains. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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