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

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 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 …

Jan 20, 2026 · Verb restrain (third-person singular simple present restrains, present participle restraining, simple past and past participle restrained) (transitive) To strain again.

To hold back; hold in; check; confine; hold from action or motion, either by physical or moral force, or by any interposing obstacle; hence, to repress or suppress: as, to restrain a horse by a …

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 definition: To hold, fasten, or secure so as to prevent or limit movement.

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 …