constraint: Meaning and Definition of

con•straint

Pronunciation: (kun-strānt'), [key]
— n.
  1. limitation or restriction.
  2. repression of natural feelings and impulses: to practice constraint.
  3. unnatural restraint in manner, conversation, etc.; embarrassment.
  4. something that constrains.
  5. the act of constraining.
  6. the condition of being constrained.
  7. a restriction on the operation of a linguistic rule or the occurrence of a linguistic construction.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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