CONSTRAINS Synonyms: 95 Similar and Opposite Words

constrains

verb

present tense third-person singular of constrain

as in compels

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure constrained by conscience to tell only the truth

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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 The City Charter governs and constrains the power of the mayor and the City Council, and the citizens must vote to change it. — Joseph Landers, Baltimore Sun, 6 Aug. 2026 Our region faces real and serious challenges, including gun violence, neighborhood disinvestment, growing wealth disparity, population stagnation and a fiscal burden that constrains public investment. — Andrea Sáenz, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026 The fact that Starlink PNT is limited to communication with a single satellite at a time also constrains performance, whereas receiving multiple satellite measurement signals from many different angles could improve its accuracy. — Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 11 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for constrains

Verb

And most of them did not choose the economic arrangement that compels them to burn that carbon, that splits labor and leisure in this way, that organizes work and pleasure around certain kinds of mobility.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026
The deal compels Facebook and Instagram to adopt new child-safety rules, including daily time caps, school-hour notification bans, stronger age checks and expanded parental controls aimed at harmful content.

— Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of compels

Verb

Despite the close parallels to placing a bet on the game in Las Vegas, prediction markets have fallen under the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the same federal agency that regulates oil futures and credit default swaps.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
But at the moment, the CFTC — which regulates derivatives contracts — currently only has one, chairman Michael Selig.

— Davis Giangiulio,Justin Papp, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of regulates

Verb

For the third time tonight, Evans forces Winter Park to turn the ball over on downs, this time at the 8 yard line.

— Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
La Gradiva takes a tragic turn in its final act that forces a reexamination of the loose, observant filmmaking that led to it.

— David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of forces

Verb

The bill, to its credit, contains a lot of admirable protections for athletes, most notably a 5 percent cap on agents’ commissions on NIL deals.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Thanks to the single-floor layout of the tiny house, this has ample headroom to stand upright and contains a double bed and some storage.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Sep. 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

Before work begins, ask who owns those assets, who controls the accounts and what happens when the commercial relationship ends.

— Scott Keever, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
That’s partly thanks to US technology controls that limit Chinese companies’ access to advanced AI processors — essential for training increasingly complex AI models.

— John Liu, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of controls

Verb

The following day, the state added him to its official register of terrorists and extremists, a designation that obliges Russian banks to freeze his assets.

— Susie Violet Ward, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Zeus obliges, striking their ship with a thunderbolt that destroys it and kills every member of Odysseus’ crew except the king himself.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026

Definition of obliges

Browse Nearby Words

constraining

constrains

constraint

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Constrains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constrains. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of constrains

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

watershed

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes