constr

a. [ Cf. OF. constraignable, F. contraignable. ] Capable of being constrained; liable to constraint, or to restraint. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Marked by constraint; not free; not voluntary; embarrassed; as, a constrained manner; a constrained tone. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By constraint or compulsion; in a constrained manner. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who constrains. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. constrainte, F. constrainte. ] The act of constraining, or the state of being constrained; that which compels to, or restrains from, action; compulsion; restraint; necessity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Long imprisonment and hard constraint. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not by constraint, but by my choice, I came. Dryden.

Syn. -- Compulsion; violence; necessity; urgency. -- Constraint, Compulsion. Constraint implies strong binding force; as, the constraint of necessity; the constraint of fear. Compulsion implies the exertion of some urgent impelling force; as, driven by compulsion. The former prevents us from acting agreeably to our wishes; the latter forces us to act contrary to our will. Compulsion is always produced by some active agent; a constraint may be laid upon us by the forms of civil society, or by other outward circumstances. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Constraining; compulsory. [ R. ] “Any constraintive vow.” R. Carew. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Constricted; p. pr. & vb. n. Constricting. ] [ L. constrictus, p. p. of constringere. See Constrain. ] To draw together; to render narrower or smaller; to bind; to cramp; to contract or cause to shrink. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such things as constrict the fibers. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

Membranous organs inclosing a cavity which their contraction serves to constrict. Todd & Bowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Drawn together; bound; contracted; cramped. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Contracted or compressed so as to be smaller in certain places or parts than in others. [ 1913 Webster ]