verb · academic
constrain
/kənˈstreɪn/con·STRAIN
to limit or restrict someone or something; to force someone to behave in a particular way
Examples
“Limited funding can constrain a researcher's ability to collect data.”
“Time constraints meant I couldn't include every relevant point in Task 2.”
“Policies may constrain how teachers design their lessons.”
Band 8 sentence
“Despite ambitious plans, the researchers were constrained by both time and budgetary limitations.”
Collocations
- time constraints
- constrain somebody from doing something
- financial constraints
Word family
Common mistakes
use 'restrict' always instead of 'constrain'→constrain
omit preposition: 'constrain to' vs 'constrain from'→constrain somebody from doing something / be constrained by
Say it for a higher band
5limit→6restrict→7+constrain
Synonyms
limit
Easily confused
restrict
“The new law restricts access to certain materials.”
limit
“They limited the number of participants.”
Related words
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In Sublist 10
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