v · academic
constrain
/kənˈstreɪn/con·STRAIN
to limit or restrict someone or something, or to force someone to behave in a particular way
Examples
“Poor funding constrains the effectiveness of the programme.”
“Legal issues may constrain the company's options.”
“Students felt constrained by the strict rules at the university.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although promising, the proposal was ultimately constrained by budgetary realities and regulatory hurdles.”
Collocations
- be constrained by
- constrain growth/choices/behaviour
- financial/political/fiscal constraints
Word family
Common mistakes
use 'restrict' and 'constrain' interchangeably in essays→choose 'constrain' when you want to imply pressure or limitation from circumstances
constrain to do something→constrain someone/something from doing something / constrain someone to do something (rare)
Say it for a higher band
5limit→6restrict→7+constrain
Synonyms
restrict
Easily confused
restrict
“Government policy restricts imports, but economic sanctions constrain the country's trade more severely.”
Related words
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In Sublist 6
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