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n. 1. The threat or use of force to prevent, restrict, or dictate the action or thought of others. 2. The state of being restricted or confined within prescribed bounds: soon tired of the constraint of military life. 3. One that restricts, limits, or regulates; a check: ignored all moral constraints in his pursuit of success. 4. Embarrassed reserve or reticence; awkwardness: "All constraint had vanished between the two, and they began to talk" (Edith Wharton). [Middle English constreinte, from Old French, from feminine past participle of constraindre, to constrain; see CONSTRAIN.] |
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