ENGLISH
REFERENCE

restrain

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ɹiˈstɹeɪn// UK //ɹɪstɹˈeɪn// re·strain Academic

v. to stop someone or something from moving or acting freely. You use this when you need to keep a person, an animal, or even your own feelings under control.

v. to prevent someone or something from moving or acting as they wish; to keep under control or within limits. Often describes the physical limitation of movement or the emotional suppression of an impulse.


SIMPLE

The guards had to restrain the angry man.

CONTEXTUAL

She struggled to restrain her excitement when she heard the news about her promotion.

COMPLEX

The new legislation was designed to restrain the power of large monopolies and ensure that smaller competitors could still enter the market fairly.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English restreinen, from Old French restreindre, from Latin rēstringere (“fasten, tighten”).

Etymology 2

From re- + strain.

Usage

The verb is transitive and requires a direct object; often used with 'from' when describing an action being prevented.

Pitfall

He restrained to shoutHe restrained himself from shoutingRestrain is not followed by an infinitive; it requires a reflexive pronoun and the preposition 'from' plus a gerund.

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