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CONSTRAINT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of constraining; the threat or use of force to control the thoughts or behavior of others
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("constraint" is a kind of...):
confinement; restriction (the act of keeping something within specified bounds (by force if necessary))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constraint"):
swaddling clothes (restrictions placed on the immature)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A device that retards something's motion
Example:
the car did not have proper restraints fitted
Synonyms:
constraint; restraint
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("constraint" is a kind of...):
device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constraint"):
trammel (a restraint that is used to teach a horse to amble)
bond; hamper; shackle; trammel (a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner))
drogue; sea anchor (restraint consisting of a canvas covered frame that floats behind a vessel; prevents drifting or maintains the heading into a wind)
life belt; safety belt; safety harness (belt attaching you to some object as a restraint in order to prevent you from getting hurt)
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)
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)
lead; leash; tether (restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal)
gag; muzzle (restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting)
fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast (restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place)
chain (anything that acts as a restraint)
catch; stop (a restraint that checks the motion of something)
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)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The state of being physically constrained
Example:
dogs should be kept under restraint
Synonyms:
constraint; restraint
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("constraint" is a kind of...):
confinement (the state of being confined)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constraint"):
cage (something that restricts freedom as a cage restricts movement)
Context examples:
An older and more world-wise man might have been puzzled by her varying moods, her sudden prejudices, her quick resentment at all constraint and authority.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It was a wonder to all of us to see this man’s fiery nature breaking suddenly through the artificial constraints with which he held it in check.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A feeling of freedom from constraint or embarrassment.
(Ease, NCI Thesaurus)
These last words were shot out of him, as though the constraint which he was evidently setting upon himself had suddenly and utterly burst asunder.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I have done nothing actionable from the first, but as long as you keep that door locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal constraint.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Most of the world is forested, but the energetic constraints of a leafy diet seem to prevent adaptive radiation.
(Putting the sloth in sloths: Arboreal lifestyle drives slow pace, NSF)
A document containing the determination of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) that the clinical study with human subject participation has been reviewed and may be conducted at a particular study site within the constraints set forth by the IRB and other institutional and federal requirements.
(Institutional Review Board Approval, NCI Thesaurus)
The Lowood constraint still clings to you somewhat; controlling your features, muffling your voice, and restricting your limbs; and you fear in the presence of a man and a brother—or father, or master, or what you will—to smile too gaily, speak too freely, or move too quickly: but, in time, I think you will learn to be natural with me, as I find it impossible to be conventional with you; and then your looks and movements will have more vivacity and variety than they dare offer now.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
A computer program based on a two-state phylogenetic hidden Markov model (phylo-HMM) that works by fitting a phylo-HMM to the data by maximum likelihood, subject to constraints designed to calibrate the model across species groups, and then predicting conserved elements based on this model.
(phastCon, NCI Thesaurus)
An extension to UML that provides constraint and object query expressions on an object-oriented model that cannot otherwise be expressed by diagrammatic notation, providing expressions that have neither the ambiguities of natural language nor the inherent difficulty of using complex mathematics.
(Object Constraint Language, NCI Thesaurus)
