as in controlled
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as in regulated
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
try to curb your curiosity when it comes to your neighbors' business
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Recent Examples of curbed
Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 7 Apr. 2026
That's up from a roughly $250 billion market during the Great Recession, as more stringent lending standards on traditional banks curbed their lending to mid-sized businesses.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026
But after Tong said the hitters should be curbed, outfielder Tyrone Taylor fired back.
—Abbey Mastracco, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2026
The administration has cut encounters at the southwest border to a record low, curbed legal migration, and placed a record-high number of people in immigration detention.
—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 23 Mar. 2026
Flanked by faith leaders, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard spoke to reporters Thursday, March 19, saying that hate against Jewish people is a serious problem that needs to be curbed because hateful rhetoric can lead to violence.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 20 Mar. 2026
Lewandowski has insisted that the contract reviews curbed waste and have not caused delays.
—Nick Miroff, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
Crude oil surged as much as 29%, the biggest intraday move since April 2020, as more Gulf producers curbed production and Iran named the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as its new supreme leader.
—Nasteho Said, Bloomberg, 9 Mar. 2026
Others, including China, have curbed fuel exports to preserve supply and keep domestic prices controlled.
—Yongchang Chin, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
The lack of sufficient post-conflict planning—about what would happen after Gaddafi’s regime was toppled—curbed enthusiasm for future collective security efforts in Syria and elsewhere.
—Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
Remember those bills moving through the Georgia Legislature that would have protected consumers from rising energy costs from data center expansion or curbed the multimillion-dollar tax breaks that have turned Georgia into a veritable data center cabbage patch?
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 7 Apr. 2026
That's up from a roughly $250 billion market during the Great Recession, as more stringent lending standards on traditional banks curbed their lending to mid-sized businesses.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026
But after Tong said the hitters should be curbed, outfielder Tyrone Taylor fired back.
—Abbey Mastracco, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2026
The administration has cut encounters at the southwest border to a record low, curbed legal migration, and placed a record-high number of people in immigration detention.
—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 23 Mar. 2026
Flanked by faith leaders, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard spoke to reporters Thursday, March 19, saying that hate against Jewish people is a serious problem that needs to be curbed because hateful rhetoric can lead to violence.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 20 Mar. 2026
Lewandowski has insisted that the contract reviews curbed waste and have not caused delays.
—Nick Miroff, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
Crude oil surged as much as 29%, the biggest intraday move since April 2020, as more Gulf producers curbed production and Iran named the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as its new supreme leader.
—Nasteho Said, Bloomberg, 9 Mar. 2026
Others, including China, have curbed fuel exports to preserve supply and keep domestic prices controlled.
—Yongchang Chin, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curbed
Adjective
-
Too bad the script feels less controlled and more directionless when each of these characters go head to head with an increasing body count across several bloody incidents.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Once the legs are free, slow and controlled motions can help a person gradually reach firmer ground.—
Outside,
Outside,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
And actually, the Bell Telephone Company was that way at one point, but they were regulated.—
Alex Crippen,
CNBC,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Banks are tightly regulated by laws meant to protect consumers from theft and fraud.—
Megan Cassidy,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
School is the crucible where raw vitality encounters the collective will to impose order and control but also to bring cultural richness to lives that might otherwise remain inhibited and crude.—
Tim Parks,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Her last and only boyfriend, Tim, would have been too inhibited.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Right now, at this very moment, the total amount of entropy contained within the observable Universe is greater than it’s ever been before.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The fire was contained over the course of 40 minutes with 68 firefighters at the scene, Lyndsey Lantz, a spokesperson for the department, said in a statement.—
Jasmine Mendez,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In contrast, Ionic capitals, which are more restrained, currently grace the columns at the entrance of the White House.—
Kevin D. Murphy,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Some had pushed for a slightly more restrained proposal that would have given Democrats the upper hand in nine of the 11 House seats.—
Russell Berman,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, Ben Kindel, Parker Wotherspoon, Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar also missed Saturday’s game against Washington, which kept its faint playoff hopes alive.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
That mix of nature and physical movement kept me grounded.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Knowing that any unauthorized demonstrations are harshly suppressed, activists have tried to organize authorized rallies, plastered posters on walls and notice boards, and filed lawsuits.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
This process enhances grain connectivity while reducing porosity, resulting in improved electrical conductivity and suppressed lattice thermal conductivity, as per the release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And what’s interesting, across tasks, across countries, there’s an extremely high correlation between the expertise that is provided by the human in measured in this way, and the sort of sophisticated actions that the model produces.—
Matthew Heimer,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
-
In testing scenarios, the breed's bite has been measured at roughly 500-800 PSI (pounds per square inch), which is among the strongest recorded in the canine world.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Curbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curbed. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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