| 释义 |
con·straint
\kənzˈtrānt, kənˈstr-\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French constreinte, constrainte, from feminine of constreint, constraint, past participle of constreindre, constraindre
1.
a. : the act or action of using force or threat of force to prevent or condition an action
b. : the quality or state of being checked, restricted, or compelled to avoid or perform some action
< the individual spirit anxious for freedom from constraint — W.C.Brownell >
< the constraint and monotony of a monastic life — Matthew Arnold >
c. : a constraining agency : a constricting, regulating, or restricting force : check
< a government works only by means of external constraints, generally by the fear of punishment — M.R.Cohen >
d. : a restriction or limitation that contains a motion or other process (as the action of a cam in machinery)
2. : compulsion by circumstances : the force of necessity : exigency
< obligation is felt by the good man, whereas the bad one feels constraint — Samuel Alexander >
3.
a. : control over one's own feelings, behavior, or actions that is exercised either to feign or repress
< a youth ill brought up, without the training which teaches us that we must put some constraint upon our feelings — Matthew Arnold >
b. : the sense of being constrained, checked, or inhibited : embarrassment
< a constraint between us as if we were strangers — J.P.Marquand >
4. : the restoring force on an ion in a crystal per unit displacement constituting a measure of the forces acting between ions in a lattice
Synonyms: see force |