restrain (redirected from restrains)

re·strain  (r-strn)

tr.v. re·strained, re·strain·ing, re·strains

1.

a. To hold back or keep in check; control: couldn't restrain the tears.

b. To hold (a person) back; prevent: restrained them from going.

2. To deprive of freedom or liberty.

3. To limit or restrict.

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[Middle English restreinen, from Old French restraindre, restreign-, from Latin restringere, to bind back; see restrict.]

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re·straina·ble adj.

re·strained·ly (-strnd-l) adv.

re·strainer n.

Synonyms: restrain, curb, check, bridle, inhibit
These verbs mean to hold back or keep under control. Restrain implies restriction or limitation, as on one's freedom of action: "a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another" Thomas Jefferson.
To curb is to restrain as if with reins: "You might curb your magnanimity" John Keats.
Check implies arresting or stopping, often suddenly or forcibly: "a light to guide, a rod/To check the erring" William Wordsworth.
To bridle is often to hold in or govern one's emotions or passions: I tried with all my might to bridle my resentment.
Inhibit usually connotes a check on one's actions, thoughts, or emotions: A fear of strangers inhibited his ability to travel.

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restrain

Verb

1. to hold (someone) back from some action

2. to limit or restrict: restrain any tendency to impulse-buy

3. to deprive (someone) of liberty [Latin re- back + stringere to draw]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	restrain - keep under control; keep in check; "suppress a smile"; "Keep your temper"; "keep your cool" keep back, hold back, keep hold - keep from exhaling or expelling; "hold your breath" confine - prevent from leaving or from being removed bottle up, suppress, inhibit - control and refrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behavior bottle up, suppress, inhibit - control and refrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behavior curb, hold in, control, moderate, contain, check, hold - lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger"
	2.	restrain - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends" confine, limit, throttle, trammel, restrict, bound tighten, reduce - narrow or limit; "reduce the influx of foreigners" tie - limit or restrict to; "I am tied to UNIX"; "These big jets are tied to large airports" gate - restrict (school boys') movement to the dormitory or campus as a means of punishment draw a line, draw the line - reasonably object (to) or set a limit (on); "I draw the line when it comes to lending money to friends!" mark off, mark out - set boundaries to and delimit; "mark out the territory" harness, rein, rule - keep in check; "rule one's temper" baffle, regulate - check the emission of (sound) hamper, cramp, halter, strangle - prevent the progress or free movement of; "He was hampered in his efforts by the bad weather"; "the imperialist nation wanted to strangle the free trade between the two small countries" tighten up, constrain, stiffen, tighten - restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations" clamp down, crack down - repress or suppress (something regarded as undesirable); "The police clamped down on illegal drugs" inhibit - limit the range or extent of; "Contact between the young was inhibited by strict social customs" constrain, cumber, encumber, restrain - hold back curb, hold in, control, moderate, contain, check, hold - lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger"
	3.	restrain - to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement; "This holds the local until the express passengers change trains"; "About a dozen animals were held inside the stockade"; "The illegal immigrants were held at a detention center"; "The terrorists held the journalists for ransom" confine, hold disable, disenable, incapacitate - make unable to perform a certain action; "disable this command on your computer" tie down, tie up, truss, bind - secure with or as if with ropes; "tie down the prisoners"; "tie up the old newspapers and bring them to the recycling shed" fetter, shackle - restrain with fetters enchain - restrain or bind with chains pinion, shackle - bind the arms of impound, pound - place or shut up in a pound; "pound the cows so they don't stray" pound up, pound - shut up or confine in any enclosure or within any bounds or limits; "The prisoners are safely pounded" pen up, fold - confine in a fold, like sheep ground - confine or restrict to the ground; "After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot"
	4.	restrain - hold back constrain, cumber, encumber confine, limit, throttle, trammel, restrain, restrict, bound - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends" bridle - put a bridle on; "bridle horses" curb - keep to the curb; "curb your dogs" clog - impede the motion of, as with a chain or a burden; "horses were clogged until they were tamed"
	5.	restrain - to compel or deter by or as if by threats intimidate daunt, frighten away, frighten off, scare away, scare off, pall, scare, dash - cause to lose courage; "dashed by the refusal" discourage - deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged

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restrain

verb 1. hold back, hold, control, check, contain, prevent, restrict, handicap, confine, curb, hamper, rein, harness, subdue, hinder, constrain, curtail, bridle, debar, keep under control, have on a tight leash, straiten << OPPOSITE encourage

verb 2. control, keep in, limit, govern, suppress, inhibit, repress, muzzle, keep under control

verb 3. imprison, hold, arrest, jail, bind, chain, confine, detain, tie up, lock up, fetter, manacle, pinion << OPPOSITE release

Translations

restrain [rɪsˈtreɪn] vt [+ feeling] → contener, refrenar [+ person]: to restrain (from doing) → disuadir (de hacer)

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restrain [rɪsˈtreɪn] vt [+ feeling] → contenir [+ person];

to restrain (from doing) → retenir (de faire)

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restrain [rɪsˈtreɪn] vt (person) → zurückhalten;

(feeling) → unterdrücken;

(growth, inflation) → dämpfen;

to restrain sb from doing sth → jdn davon abhalten, etw zu tun;

to restrain o.s. from doing sth → sich beherrschen, etw nicht zu tun

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restrain [rɪsˈtreɪn] vt [+ feeling] → contenere, frenare [+ person]: to restrain (from doing) → trattenere (dal fare)