straitjacket

variants also straightjacket
Definition of straitjacketnext
as in confinement
a jacket that has long arms which can be tied together behind someone's back and that is used to control the movement (as of a violent prisoner or patient) The magician struggled to free his arms from the straitjacket and escape from the tank of water he was submerged in.

Related Words

Relevance

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 straitjacket Forced to walk around, and even sleep, in a steel straightjacket with his neck permanently raised high, the once carefree Christophe begins to shut down to both his classmates and family. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026 The icy straitjacket that kept the rocks from collapsing was no longer there. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 10 May 2026 In any other administration, straitjackets would be the mandatory dress code. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2026 First Man, the Neil Armstrong biopic that is Chazelle’s second collaboration with Gosling, feels like watching Gosling act his way out of a straitjacket. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for straitjacket
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straitjacket
Noun
  • In the first season’s finale, the MDR team successfully orchestrates a plan to activate their work consciousness in the outside world, hoping to communicate to others the conditions of their confinement.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Nitta said the Emergence experiment is the first to shed light on how AI agents collude to bypass guardrails and break confinement, as OpenAI has yet to release all of its findings from the Hugging Face incident.
    — Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Like at his Moxie’s restaurant in Southlake, the menu appeals to local diners who want something a notch better than chains.
    — Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The store that matches its habits to its real customers beats the one copying whatever the chains are doing this quarter.
    — Elie Y. Katz, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The former—a dark blue microfiber on the outer part of the cloth—breaks up bigger pieces of grime, while the light blue microfiber on the inner part traps and absorbs dirt.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Across 13 tracks, Emjay (whose stage name is an acronym for her real name, María José) fuses genres like pop, rock, trap and hyperpop, turning the mix into an act of uninhibited freedom.
    — Lyndsey Havens, Billboard, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The outerwear was seemingly fabricated out of a faux-fur fabric, which added volume to areas like the collar and sleeves.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 27 Sep. 2026
  • While many traditional blue-collar workers are seeing a boost, including truckers, the biggest blue collar beneficiaries, according to Bachaud’s data, are welders and pipefitters.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 26 Sep. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Straitjacket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straitjacket. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster