withstraint

W4I1T1H4S1T1R1A1I1N1T1

noun

The act or process of withstraining; restraint.

Scrabble 17

Meanings

nounwithstraint (uncountable)
  1. rareuncountableThe act or process of withstraining; restraint.

    But no withstraint was put on the fishing and the oyster banks gave out.

    1911, Arthur Bullard, Panama: The Canal, the Country, and the People, page 366
    5 more examples

    Thousands of slaves were better off by far than they have been subsequent to liberation, and it is a fact that speaks volumes for the much discussed and criticized slaveholders, that numbers of emancipated slaves refused to accept their freedom, while many more, who went away delighted at the removal of withstraint, came back of their own option very soon after, and begged to be allowed to resume the old relations.

    1895, James Cox, My Native Land: The United States, page 246

    Dr. H. K. Miller of New York City, certainly gave a fine talk on "Withstraint and Treatment of Cats."

    1925, Veterinary Medicine, volume 20, page 494

    He realized that he had come into contact with a new force - culture and convention which were the products of generations of withstraint and careful training.

    1933, Basil Fuller, The Life Story of the Rt. Hon. J. H. Thomas, page 73

    The exceptions to this withstraint are the heart centre, the spleen, and two minor centres connected with the breathing apparatus.

    1953, Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on the Seven Rays: The New Psychology

    Incredulously, the faithful narrator marveled at the withstraint of the Duke as he sidestepped Zaragoza, home of his uncle, and skirted Pedrola, home of his sister, to spend a night in the obscure little village of Almudévar away from any familiar hearth.

    1956, Amarie Dennis, Saint Francis Borgia (1510-1572), page 170

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

withstraint. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withstraint

MLA

“withstraint.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withstraint. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “withstraint,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withstraint.

Source: withstraint on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.