constraint

noun

con·straint | \ kən-ˈstrānt

Definition of constraint

1a : the act of constraining

b : the state of being checked, restricted, or compelled to avoid or perform some action … the constraint and monotony of a monastic life …— Matthew Arnold a life of invalidism and constraint

c : a constraining condition, agency, or force : check put legal constraints on the board's activities Budget constraints have forced me to revise my travel plans.

2a : repression of one's own feelings, behavior, or actions emotional constraint

b : a sense of being constrained : embarrassment " … a constraint between us as if we were strangers … "— John P. Marquand

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about constraint

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Examples of constraint in a Sentence

Lack of funding has been a major constraint on the building's design. They demand freedom from constraint. They refuse to work under constraint any longer.

Recent Examples on the Web

Of course no reasonable person believes that all constraints on screen time are bad, especially for children. — Laura Turner, Glamour, "The Big Problem With the New Screen Time Guidelines for Kids," 26 Apr. 2019 The fate of workers will depend on certain employer constraints, labor laws and regulations, and whether there’s a good enough system in place to transition people into new roles or industries. — Nick Statt, The Verge, "The AI boom is happening all over the world, and it’s accelerating quickly," 12 Dec. 2018 Our model captures critical performance characteristics – milk quality and productivity – as well as relevant constraints, such as individual health and reproductive status. — Smithsonian, "This Connecticut Farm Is Milking Cows for Data," 11 July 2018 The trustees approved a $1.36 billion budget for the university and its regional campuses and a $1.047 billion budget for UConn Health, which faces many of the same financial constraints, particularly the burden of high fringe benefit costs. — Kathleen Megan, courant.com, "UConn Budget Could Mean Larger Classes, Fewer Advisers, Revisiting Tuition Hike For Fall 2019," 27 June 2018 The problem is that the political constraints, which functioned reasonably well in the past, are coming completely unglued. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Trump is pardon-giddy. Is that a constitutional problem?," 6 June 2018 The printer used for the home, the Vulcan, is designed with common constraints in mind for places such as Haiti and rural El Salvador—unpredictable power, little technical assistance, and potable water not guaranteed. — Maya Mcdowell, House Beautiful, "This Tiny House Was 3D-Printed in Less Than 48 Hours," 20 Mar. 2019 Google Developers are freed from the constraints of traditional hardware as well. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Google's Stadia game-streaming service lets you play games anywhere, if your Internet can handle it," 19 Mar. 2019 Designed to fit the constraints of early UNIX systems that had paltry computing power and no controls outside of keyboards and text commands, Rogue laid a novel foundation. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "If You Can't Beat It, Code It," 17 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'constraint.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.