constraint
[kən'streɪnt] noun
countable
■something which controls what you do by keeping you within particular limits 限制；束缚；约束•The constraints of politeness wouldn't allow her to say what she really thought about his cooking.出于礼貌，她不会说出自己对他的厨艺的真实看法。 •Financial constraints on the company are preventing them from employing new staff.公司财务紧张使得他们不能再聘请新员工。 uncountable formal
■unnatural behaviour which is sometimes the result of forcing yourself to act in a particular way 拘束；局促•She tried to appear friendly, but her constraint was obvious.她尽力显得友好，可是显然很拘束。 under constraint formal
■If you do something under constraint, you do it only because you have been forced to 被强迫地；迫于压力；在强制下•They confessed, but only under severe constraint.他们迫于巨大的压力才说出了真相。 |