verb

restrain

to restrain, to hold back, to control, to curb

She had to restrain her anger.

She had to restrain her anger.

He was restrained by two police officers.

He was restrained by two police officers.

They restrained him from leaving the room.

They restrained him from leaving the room.

((sb./sth.)) to hold back (sb./sth.) from action. She had to restrain her anger.

((sb.)) from ((-ing)) to prevent (sb.) from doing (sth.). They restrained him from leaving the room.

Synonyms: control, curb, hold back; Antonyms: release, encourage

From Latin 're-' (back) + 'stringere' (to draw tight). The core idea is 'to pull back tightly'.

Think of 're-' as 'back' and 'strain' as 'pull'. You're pulling someone or something back.

This page is designed for learning support. Please use it as a learning reference, not as a formal reference.