Constraints
constraint (?), n. (OF.constrainte, F. constrainte.) The act of
constraining, or the state of being constrained; that which
compels to, or restrains from, action; compulsion; restraint;
necessity.
Long imprisonment and hard constraint.
Spenser.
Not by constraint, but by my choice, I
came.
Dryden.
Syn. -- Compulsion; violence; necessity; urgency. --
Constraint, Compulsion. Constraint implies
strong binding force; as, the constraint of necessity; the
constraint of fear. Compulsion implies the exertion
of some urgent impelling force; as, driven by compulsion.
The former prevents us from acting agreeably to our wishes; the
latter forces us to act contrary to our will. Compulsion
is always produced by some active agent; a constraint may
be laid upon us by the forms of civil society, or by other
outward circumstances. Crabb.
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