SG Heritage Dictionary

Constrain [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. In a general sense, to strain; to press; to urge; to drive; to exert force, physical or moral, either in urging to action or in restraining it. Hence,

2. To compel or force; to urge with irresistible power, or with a power sufficient to produce the effect.

3. The spirit within me constraineth me. Job 32:18 .

4. I was constrained to appeal to Caesar. Acts 28:19 .

5. For the love of Christ constraineth us. 2 Corinthians 5:14 .

6. To confine by fore; to restrain from escape or action; to repress.

7. My sire in caves constrains the winds.

8. To hold by force; to press; to confine.

9. How the strait stays the slender waist constrain

10. To constringe; to bind.

11. When winter frosts constrain the field with cold.

12. To tie fast; to bind; to chain; to confine.

13. He binds in chains the drowsy prophet, and his limbs constrains.

14. To necessitate.

15. Did fate or we the adulterous act constrain?

16. To force; to ravish. [Not used.]

17. To produce in opposition to nature; as a constrained voice; constrained notes.

Constrain [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. To secure by bonds; to chain; to bond or confine; to hold tightly; to constringe.

2. To bring into a narrow compass; to compress.

3. To hold back by force; to restrain; to repress.

4. To compel; to force; to necessitate; to oblige.

5. To violate; to ravish.

6. To produce in such a manner as to give an unnatural effect; as, a constrained voice.

Constrainable [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

That may be constrained, forced, or repressed; liable to constraint, or to restraint.

Constrainable [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Capable of being constrained; liable to constraint, or to restraint.

Constrained [Participle passive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Urged irresistibly or powerfully; compelled; forced; restrained; confined; bound; imprisoned; necessitated.

Constrained [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Marked by constraint; not free; not voluntary; embarrassed; as, a constrained manner; a constrained tone.

Constrained [Imperfect tense and past participle] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Constrain

Constrainedly [Adverb] Webster's Dictionary 1828

By constraint; by compulsion.

Constrainedly [Adverb] Webster's Dictionary 1913

By constraint or compulsion; in a constrained manner.

Constrainer [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

One who constrains.

Constrainer [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

One who constrains.

Constraining [Participle present tense] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Urging with irresistible or powerful force; compelling; forcing; repressing; confining; holding by force; pressing; binding.

Constraining [Present participle and verbal noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Constrain

Constraint [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. Irresistible force, or its effect; any force, or power, physical or moral, which compels to act or to forbear action, or which urges so strongly as to produce its effect upon the body or mind; compulsion; restraint; confinement.

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

3. Feed the flock of God, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint but willingly. 1 Peter 5:2 .

Constraint [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The act of constraining, or the state of being constrained; that which compels to, or restrains from, action; compulsion; restraint; necessity.

Constraintive [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Having power to compel.

Constraintive [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Constraining; compulsory.

Compulsion Roget’s Thesaurus §744

N. compulsion, coercion, coaction, constraint, duress, enforcement, press, conscription, force, brute force, main force, physical force, the sword, ultima ratio, club law, lynch law, mob law, arguementum baculinum, le droit du plus fort, martial law, restraint, necessity, force majeure, hobson's choice

V. compel, force, make, drive, coerce, constrain, enforce, necessitate, oblige, force upon, press, cram down the throat, thrust down the throat, force down the throat, say it must be done, make a point of, insist upon, take no denial, put down, dragoon, extort, wring from, squeeze, put on the squeeze, put on the screws, turn on the screw, drag into, bind, bind over, pin down, tie down, require, tax, put in force, commandeer, restrain

Adj. compelling, coercive, coactive, inexorable, compulsory, compulsatory, obligatory, stringent, peremptory, forcible, not to be trifled with, irresistible, compelled, fain to

Adv. by force, by force of arms, on compulsion, perforce, vi et armis, under the lash, at the point of the sword, at the point of the bayonet, forcibly, by a strong arm, under protest, in spite of one's teeth, against one's will, nolens volens, by stress of circumstances, by stress of weather, under press of, de rigueur, with a gun to one's head

Phr. i'll make him an offer he can't refuse

Restraint Roget’s Thesaurus §751

N. restraint, hindrance, coercion, cohibition, constraint, repression, suppression, discipline, control, confinement, durance, duress, imprisonment, incarceration, coarctation|, entombment, mancipation, durance vile, limbo, captivity, blockade, arrest, arrestation, custody, keep, care, charge, ward, restringency, curb, lettres de cachet, limitation, restriction, protection, monopoly, prohibition, prisoner, repressionist

V. restrain, check, put under restraint, lay under restraint, enthral, enthrall, inthral, inthrall, bethral, bethrall, restrict, debar, constrain, coerce, curb, control, hold back, hold from, hold in, hold in check, hold within bounds, keep back, keep from, keep in, keep in check, keep within bounds, hold in leash, hold in leading strings, withhold, keep under, repress, suppress, smother, pull in, rein in, hold, hold fast, keep a tight hand on, prohibit, inhibit, cohibit, enchain, fasten, fetter, shackle, entrammel, bridle, muzzle, hopple, gag, pinion, manacle, handcuff, tie one's hands, hobble, bind hand and foot, swathe, swaddle, pin down, tether, picket, tie down, tie up, secure, forge fetters, disable, hamstring (incapacitate) 158, confine, shut up, shut in, clap up, lock up, box up, mew up, bottle up, cork up, seal up, button up, hem in, bolt in, wall in, rail in, impound, pen, coop, inclose, cage, incage, encage, close the door upon, cloister, imprison, immure, incarcerate, entomb, clap under hatches, lay under hatches, put in irons, put in a strait-waistcoat, throw into prison, cast into prison, put into bilboes, arrest, take up, take charge of, take into custody, take prisoner, take captive, make prisoner, make captive, captivate, lead captive, lead into captivity, send to prison, commit to prison, commit, give in charge, give in custody, subjugate

Adj. restrained, constrained, imprisoned, pent up, jammed in, wedged in, under lock and key, under restraint, under hatches, in swaddling clothes, on parole, in custody, doing time, cohibitive, coactive, stiff, restringent, strait-laced, hidebound, barkbound, ice bound, wind bound, weather bound, "cabined cribbed confined", in lob's pound, laid by the heels

King James Bible KJV Bible

Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible

13 KJV and 2 BSB verses contain “constrain”

2 Kings 4:8

And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat.

Job 32:18

For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.

For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me.

Isaiah 29:2

Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.

And I will constrain Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation; she will be like an altar hearth before Me.

Matthew 14:22

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds.

Mark 6:45

And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.

Luke 24:29

But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.

Acts 16:15

And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Acts 28:19

But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.

But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, even though I have no charge to bring against my nation.

1 Corinthians 7:37

Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.

But the man who is firmly established in his heart and under no constraint, with control over his will and resolve in his heart not to marry the virgin, he will do well.

2 Corinthians 5:14

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

Galatians 6:12

As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.

1 Peter 5:2

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;

Bel and the Dragon 1:30

Now when the king saw that they pressed him sore, being constrained, he delivered Daniel unto them:

2 Maccabees 6:7

And in the day of the king’s birth every month they were brought by bitter constraint to eat of the sacrifices; and when the fast of Bacchus was kept, the Jews were compelled to go in procession to Bacchus, carrying ivy.

2 Maccabees 6:18

Eleazar, one of the principal scribes, an aged man, and of a well favoured countenance, was constrained to open his mouth, and to eat swine’s flesh.