constrain

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The First Amendment and decades of precedent constrain executive agencies.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

Presidents have a freer hand to craft policy on the global stage, with lawmakers and courts less empowered to constrain them.

From Slate • Mar. 10, 2026

Saudi Arabia is starting to shift crude exports to its Red Sea hub at Yanbu as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz constrain Gulf shipments.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

“The staggered nature of the Board limits how much change we can affect in one year, but we do not think the Board should constrain itself on refreshment.”

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Such another small basin of thin gruel as his own was all that he could, with thorough self-approbation, recommend; though he might constrain himself, while the ladies were comfortably clearing the nicer things, to say:

From "Emma" by Jane Austen