restrain

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English restreinen, a borrowing from Old French restreindre, from Latin rēstringere, present active infinitive of rēstringō (“fasten, tighten”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈstɹeɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪn
• Hyphenation: re‧strain

Verb

restrain (third-person singular simple present restrains, present participle restraining, simple past and past participle restrained)

1. (transitive) To control or keep in check.
   • 1875, Russell Thacher Trall, The Mother's Hygienic Hand-book, page 42:

     As with vicarious mismenstruation, the abnormal cessation only requires strict attention to the general health, with such measures to restrain hemorrhage as have already been indicated.

2. (transitive) To deprive of liberty.
3. (transitive) To restrict or limit.

   He was restrained by the straitjacket.

   • 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly‎^[1], volume 188, number 23, page 19:

     In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […]  The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.

Synonyms

• (control or keep in check): check, limit, withstrain; See also Thesaurus:curb
• (deprive of liberty): confine, detain

Derived terms

• overrestrained

Related terms

• constrain
• restraint
• restrict

Translations

to control or keep in check

• Armenian: զսպել (hy) (zspel)
• Bulgarian: сдържам (bg) (sdǎržam), въздържам (bg) (vǎzdǎržam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 克制 (zh) (kèzhì)

• Czech: mít pod kontrolou
• Dutch: beteugelen (nl)
• Finnish: hillitä (fi), hallita (fi)
• French: retenir (fr)
• Galician: cavidar (archaic), reprimir (gl)
• German: (formally) zügeln (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: κωλύω (kōlúō), ἐρύκω (erúkō)

• Irish: coisc
• Italian: trattenere (it), sorvegliare (it), trattenersi (it)
• Latin: reprimō, teneo (la), refrēnō
• Maori: whakatina, whakatōnga (one's own feelings), nati, nanati, whakaita
• Occitan: mestrejar (oc), reténer (oc), conténer (oc)
• Portuguese: conter (pt), coibir (pt), deter (pt)
• Romanian: reține (ro), înfrâna (ro)
• Russian: сде́рживать (ru) impf (sdérživatʹ), сдержа́ть (ru) pf (sderžátʹ), обу́здывать (ru) impf (obúzdyvatʹ), обузда́ть (ru) pf (obuzdátʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: srian
• Spanish: reprimir (es), contener (es), refrenar (es), restreñir
• Thai: ควบคุม (th) (kûuap-kum)
• Ukrainian: стри́мувати (strýmuvaty)

to deprive of liberty

• Bulgarian: задържам (bg) (zadǎržam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 抑 (zh) (yì)

• Czech: zbavit svobody, omezit (cs)
• Dutch: onderdrukken (nl)
• Finnish: kukistaa (fi)
• French: réprimer (fr)
• German: einschränken (de), behindern (de)
• Hungarian: korlátoz (hu)
• Italian: trattenere (it)
• Latin: compescō
• Maori: whakaita
• Occitan: déténer, reténer (oc)
• Portuguese: encarcerar, reprimir (pt)
• Romanian: a ține închis, deține (ro), reține (ro)
• Russian: заключа́ть (ru) impf (zaključátʹ), заключи́ть (ru) pf (zaključítʹ), заде́рживать (ru) impf (zadérživatʹ), задержа́ть (ru) pf (zaderžátʹ), лиша́ть свобо́ды impf (lišátʹ svobódy), лиши́ть свобо́ды pf (lišítʹ svobódy)
• Spanish: retener (es)
• Thai: กักขัง (th) (gàk-kǎng)
• Ukrainian: позбавля́ти во́лі (pozbavljáty vóli)

to restrict or limit

• Armenian: զսպել (hy) (zspel)
• Bulgarian: възпирам (bg) (vǎzpiram), ограничавам (bg) (ograničavam)
• Czech: oklešťovat, restringovat, provést restrikci, omezit (cs)
• Dutch: beperken (nl), begrenzen (nl), beteugelen (nl)
• Finnish: pidättää (fi), rajoittaa (fi)
• French: restreindre (fr)
• German: abgrenzen (de), begrenzen (de), eingrenzen (de)
• Hungarian: korlátoz (hu)
• Italian: ridurre (it), contenere (it), restringere (it), limitare (it), delimitare (it)
• Maori: tautāwhi
• Portuguese: restringir (pt), conter (pt)
• Romanian: restrânge (ro), opri (ro), împiedica (ro), îngrădi (ro)
• Russian: сде́рживать (ru) impf (sdérživatʹ), сдержа́ть (ru) pf (sderžátʹ), ограни́чивать (ru) impf (ograníčivatʹ), ограни́чить (ru) pf (ograníčitʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: srian
• Spanish: restringir (es)
• Thai: ยับยั้ง (th) (yáp-yáng)
• Ukrainian: стри́мувати (strýmuvaty), обме́жувати (obméžuvaty)

Etymology 2

From re- +‎ strain.

Verb

restrain (third-person singular simple present restrains, present participle restraining, simple past and past participle restrained)

1. (transitive) To strain again.
   • 1998, Elena Molokhovets, Classic Russian Cooking, page 360:

     Squeeze the juice from 3 oranges and let the juice stand. Then pour it off, strain, and mix with the syrup. Restrain the liquid and chill in a mold.

Anagrams

• arrestin, retrains, strainer, terrains, trainers, transire