Constraint

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kənˈstɹeɪnt/

Definitions

1. A limitation or restriction that controls what can be done or how something can happen
2. A restriction that limits potential actions, influences decision-making processes, and establishes boundaries on what may occur
3. A condition or limitation that restricts actions, influences choices, and defines the framework in which events unfold

Etymology: The Latin verb "cōnstringō" meant to draw tight or bind together, and its past participle "cōnstrictus" gave rise to the idea of being bound or hemmed in. Old French turned that participle into "constreinte," a word for compulsion or force, and Middle English borrowed it as "constreynt," which carried the sense of forcible restraint, hardship, or imprisonment before its present meaning took hold. Over the centuries the word moved from the physical to the abstract. A "constraint" was first something that squeezed or confined a person, and later came to mean any limiting condition, such as a rule, a budget, or a deadline, that narrows the range of what can be done.

Synonyms: restriction, limitation, control, curtailment, impediment

Antonyms: freedom, liberty, independence, release, unconstraint