as in restrained
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1
as in compelled
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
constrained by conscience to tell only the truth
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in controlled
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
constrained his anger at the needless interruption
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of constrained
Spencer Elliott, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
It is being shaped by constrained supply, external shocks, and a new level of buyer urgency that is fundamentally altering decision-making.
—Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Reports suggest that these demonstrations highlight the sophistication of Atlas’s whole-body control system, pointing toward practical applications where robots must operate in complex, constrained environments.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 6 May 2026
While memory makers are scrambling to expand production, Yu also noted that new semiconductor capacity typically takes two to three years to come online, meaning supply is likely to remain constrained in the near term.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 6 May 2026
When temperatures drop, gas demand climbs, and constrained pipelines that supply the region reach capacity, pushing up electric prices.
—Alex Kuffner, The Providence Journal, 10 Apr. 2026
In other words, giving reasonable levers for constrained districts and kids who have a clear career pathway that doesn’t require language study.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
The airline’s efforts to revive services have been held back by the closure of Qatar’s airspace, alongside the company’s heavier dependence on long-haul corridors that remain constrained.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 25 Mar. 2026
But his brain-imaging studies suggest that, during a psychedelic trip, communication between different regions of the brain becomes far less constrained than during normal consciousness, allowing new ways of thinking to emerge.
—Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
Supply is constrained by the on-again, off-again blockades and agitation in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as by Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil capacity.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 30 May 2026
At the same time, supply growth in many of these materials has been constrained by long permitting timelines, capital shortages in the mining sector and rising geopolitical competition over strategic resources.
—Anthony Milewski, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
It’s also claimed that Greece’s potential deployment of Floating Nuclear Power Plants (FNPPs) is increasingly viable but remains constrained more by institutional preparedness and political continuity than by technology.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
Analysts today describe an institution constrained by shortages of fuel and spare parts and increasingly dependent on domestic improvisation — modifying, repurposing and cannibalizing older systems to keep them operational.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026
The kitchen-sink drama follows five working-class friends — Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli and Conor — who grew up together in a tower block in Birmingham and are now in their thirties, finding themselves on increasingly divergent, and for most of them increasingly constrained, paths to the future.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Unlike other fields that have large, high-quality datasets available to train AI models, such as image analysis and language processing, the AI in drug development is constrained by small, low-quality datasets.
—Christian MacEdonia, The Conversation, 3 Jan. 2025
Even constrained by the low initial altitude, the toss method helps keep Ukrainian jets outside the range of Russia’s most dangerous surface-to-air missile batteries.
—David Axe, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
Civic infrastructure became constrained geography.
—Spencer Elliott, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
It is being shaped by constrained supply, external shocks, and a new level of buyer urgency that is fundamentally altering decision-making.
—Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Reports suggest that these demonstrations highlight the sophistication of Atlas’s whole-body control system, pointing toward practical applications where robots must operate in complex, constrained environments.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 6 May 2026
While memory makers are scrambling to expand production, Yu also noted that new semiconductor capacity typically takes two to three years to come online, meaning supply is likely to remain constrained in the near term.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 6 May 2026
When temperatures drop, gas demand climbs, and constrained pipelines that supply the region reach capacity, pushing up electric prices.
—Alex Kuffner, The Providence Journal, 10 Apr. 2026
In other words, giving reasonable levers for constrained districts and kids who have a clear career pathway that doesn’t require language study.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
The airline’s efforts to revive services have been held back by the closure of Qatar’s airspace, alongside the company’s heavier dependence on long-haul corridors that remain constrained.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 25 Mar. 2026
But his brain-imaging studies suggest that, during a psychedelic trip, communication between different regions of the brain becomes far less constrained than during normal consciousness, allowing new ways of thinking to emerge.
—Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
Payroll is constrained by a hard cap and a spending floor.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
Supply is constrained by the on-again, off-again blockades and agitation in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as by Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil capacity.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 30 May 2026
At the same time, supply growth in many of these materials has been constrained by long permitting timelines, capital shortages in the mining sector and rising geopolitical competition over strategic resources.
—Anthony Milewski, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
It’s also claimed that Greece’s potential deployment of Floating Nuclear Power Plants (FNPPs) is increasingly viable but remains constrained more by institutional preparedness and political continuity than by technology.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
Analysts today describe an institution constrained by shortages of fuel and spare parts and increasingly dependent on domestic improvisation — modifying, repurposing and cannibalizing older systems to keep them operational.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026
The kitchen-sink drama follows five working-class friends — Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli and Conor — who grew up together in a tower block in Birmingham and are now in their thirties, finding themselves on increasingly divergent, and for most of them increasingly constrained, paths to the future.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Unlike other fields that have large, high-quality datasets available to train AI models, such as image analysis and language processing, the AI in drug development is constrained by small, low-quality datasets.
—Christian MacEdonia, The Conversation, 3 Jan. 2025
Even constrained by the low initial altitude, the toss method helps keep Ukrainian jets outside the range of Russia’s most dangerous surface-to-air missile batteries.
—David Axe, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for constrained
Adjective
-
Flowering woody shrubs that bloom on new wood tolerate or thrive on fairly aggressive pruning, while those that bloom on old wood require more careful, restrained pruning.—
Marie Iannotti,
The Spruce,
29 May 2026
-
Even out of context, the first meeting at the train station of Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard is ineffably moving, a model of restrained desire.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
As imperial forces traversed continents, the meanings and uses of these arrivals—whether people, plants, or ideologies— were actively negotiated and reshaped by the societies and environments compelled to contend with them.—
Sophia Rey,
JSTOR Daily,
28 May 2026
-
Large pharmaceutical companies are structurally compelled to acquire.—
Marc Cooper,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The Knicks controlled Game 4 from the opening tip, racing out to a double-digit lead and never allowing Cleveland back into contention.—
Alejandro Avila,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
-
Securing critical infrastructure such as seaports, airports and major highways currently controlled by armed groups, including routes connected to the neighboring Dominican Republic, will be crucial.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
25 May 2026
Adjective
-
Both players were so inhibited for the final game of the set that the level of play resembled something from a local park.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
-
This really is a time to be less inhibited about going out.—
Joe Hernandez,
NPR,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
Anti-corruption protests forced then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic to resign in January 2025 before authorities cracked down on the protesters.—
Jovana Gec,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
-
The drenching forced a 41-minute delay before the teams resumed to begin the third inning.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
Garver noted that the workload extended across the entire cast and crew, especially the younger actors whose schedules were carefully regulated.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
24 May 2026
-
Operating under a New York State license regulated by the Office of Cannabis Management, the Southampton dispensary positions itself as a sophisticated alternative to the stereotypical cannabis retail experience.—
Tanya Benedicto Klich,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
The deeply repressed make great ghost fodder.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
-
Among those acolytes is Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), a reedy, repressed young virgin who yearns to be part of the gay community but hasn’t the courage to come out to his domineering mother Christine (Elisabeth Wiener), who also just happens to be the country’s very right-wing health minister.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
The thoughtlessness with which this bride coerced you into subsidizing her wedding was stunning.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
23 May 2026
-
Others have recanted and said police coerced them into implicating Washington and Simms.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Constrained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constrained. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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