restrain, check, curb, bridle mean to hold back from or control in doing something. restrain suggests holding back by force or persuasion from acting or from going to extremes.

RESTRAIN definition: 1. to control the actions or behaviour of someone by force, especially in order to stop them from…. Learn more.

Restrain implies restriction or limitation, as on one's freedom of action: "a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another" (Thomas Jefferson).

Restrain definition: to hold back from action; keep in check or under control; repress.. See examples of RESTRAIN used in a sentence.

Definition of restrain verb in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

There are 20 meanings listed in OED's entry for the verb restrain, four of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

If you restrain an emotion or you restrain yourself from doing something, you prevent yourself from showing that emotion or doing what you wanted or intended to do.

Restrain can also mean to restrict or hold back someone else, to prevent someone from doing what they're intending to do. Prison guards have to restrain a prisoner who is trying to attack …

re•strain (ri strān′), v.t. to hold back from action; keep in check or under control; repress: to restrain one's temper. to deprive of liberty, as by arrest or the like. to limit or hamper the …

Nov 16, 2025 · restrain (third-person singular simple present restrains, present participle restraining, simple past and past participle restrained) (transitive) To strain again. quotations