restrain

English

Etymology

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.
2. (transitive) To deprive of liberty.
3. (transitive) To restrict or limit.
   • 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, restrain, withstrain; See also Thesaurus:curb
• (deprive of liberty): confine, detain

Related terms

• constrain
• restraint
• restrict

Translations

to control or keep in check

• Armenian: զսպել (hy) (zspel)
• Czech: mít pod kontrolou
• Dutch: beteugelen (nl)
• Finnish: hillitä (fi), hallita (fi)
• French: retenir (fr)
• German: (formally) zügeln (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: κωλύω (kōlúō), ἐρύκω (erúkō)

• Italian: trattenere (it), sorvegliare (it), trattenersi (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: reprimō, teneo (la)
• Maori: whakatina, whakatōnga (one's own feelings), nati, nanati, whakaita
• Occitan: mestrejar (oc), reténer, 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)
• Ukrainian: стри́мувати (strýmuvaty)

to deprive of liberty

• 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
• Portuguese: encarcerar, reprimir (pt)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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)
• Ukrainian: позбавля́ти во́лі (pozbavljáty vóli)

to restrict or limit

• Armenian: զսպել (hy) (zspel)
• 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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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)
• Ukrainian: стри́мувати (strýmuvaty), обме́жувати (obméžuvaty)

Anagrams

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