verb · academic
constrain
/kənˈstreɪn/con·STRAIN
Band 5-6task2speakingtask1
to restrict or limit someone or something, or to force someone to behave in a particular way
Examples
“Budget limits constrain the scope of the research.”
“Cultural factors can constrain individual choices.”
“We were constrained to use only available data.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although scientifically sound, the study's conclusions were constrained by a small sample size.”
Collocations
- constrain by/through
- face constraints
Word family
constraint nounconstrained adjective/verb (past)
Common mistakes
The budget constrain the team's activities.→The budget constrains the team's activities.
We were constrain to accept the proposal.→We were constrained to accept the proposal.
Say it for a higher band
5limit→6restrict→7+constrain
Synonyms
restrict
Easily confused
restrict
“The new law restricts the sale of alcohol after midnight.”
Related words
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In Sublist 5
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