constraining

verb

present participle of constrain
1
as in forcing
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure constrained by conscience to tell only the truth

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in regulating
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression) constrained his anger at the needless interruption

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of constraining Iran and its Houthi allies have also attacked refineries in the Middle East, further constraining fuel supplies. — Azhar Sukri, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026 This is important to me, because as much as these tech companies claim to be upending everything with AI and claiming extraordinarily special privileges as a result, there is still legal gravity constraining them. — James Folta, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026 Dyed diesel is sold at a limited set of locations designed primarily for industry operators, constraining access to the fuel. — ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026 The conflict in the Middle East has choked oil flows from the region, constraining global supply. — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026 The drug stops the virus from multiplying in the body, effectively constraining its severity. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026 Done well, pricing and packaging can improve margins without reducing service quality or constraining growth. — Basant Singh, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026 Employers are freezing or cutting hiring, with the steepest declines concentrated in middle- and entry-level roles, effectively constraining household earnings exactly when energy and living costs are surging. — Katica Roy, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026 Corrales argues that college athletes are relatively insulated from the forces constraining study abroad. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for constraining
  1. forcing
  2. regulating
  3. coercing
  4. controlling
  5. compelling
  6. curbing
  7. obligating
  8. containing
Verb
  • The French broadcaster said the cyberattack involved forcing a continuous defrost cycle, setting temperatures to 50°C (122°F).
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Andrés Zamora, Secuoya Studios’ director of global sales and distribution, said such deals underline the role distribution can play in financing projects, while also forcing producers to defend their position.
    — Emiliano de Pablos, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of forcing
Verb
  • Witch fever, by this point in history, had become a mechanism for brutally regulating and disciplining female behavior, and doing so intergenerationally.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Skill game machines are disappearing from businesses and private clubs across Pennsylvania after lawmakers failed to pass legislation regulating them before the state's deadline.
    — Madeleine Wright, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of regulating
Verb
  • In lawsuits filed last year, Chegg and PMC accused Google of abusing its monopoly power by coercing publishers into supplying content for AI Overviews for free, or risk disappearing from search results.
    — Emma Roth, The Verge, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Playing that cat, a work camp warden coercing Hawke’s character into smuggling gold through the wilderness, is none other than Russell Crowe.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of coercing
Verb
  • Virginia did a good job controlling SMU for long stretches, but a few big plays negated all that.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Since Oppenheim and Fielder can’t record her there, their contact is mediated through her seemingly unstable and controlling husband, Billy Evans.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of controlling
Verb
  • Last year, Wangari pushed through a law compelling the government to open more than a hundred registry offices, and making identity documents a fundamental right for every citizen.
    — Vivienne Walt, Time, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The state’s campaign watchdog can seek a court order compelling an influencer to disclose that they were paid, but that can take months.
    — Sophie Austin, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of compelling
Verb
  • Defensive capabilities ‘artificially restricted’ That information deficit has been compounded by Elon Musk’s Starlink curbing some internet services in Ukraine, according to local officials.
    — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Its produce is pivotal in curbing supply-side inflation domestically, and the country ranks among the top global exporters of rice and sugar.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of curbing
Verb
  • Your 11th House of Friends lights up as the life-giving Sun energizes that area, squaring obligating Saturn in your 8th House of Intimacy and Shared Resources.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 6 July 2026
  • The unions argue that carrying out permanent layoffs during a funding lapse violates the Antideficiency Act, which bars agencies from obligating funds without congressional authorization, and exceeds executive authority under the Administrative Procedure Act.
    — Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Definition of obligating
Verb
  • Instead of exchanging the entire print head, the K3 swaps a smaller assembly containing the nozzle, hotend and filament path.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
  • An anonymous security engineer on OpenAI’s agent security team argued in a recent post that containing models had become too complex.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of containing

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constrained
constraining
constrains
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Cite this Entry

“Constraining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/constraining. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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