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   con·strict

   /kənˈstrik(t)/

   verb

   • 1. make narrower, especially by encircling pressure: "chemicals that constrict the blood vessels" Similar narrowmake/become narrowertightencompresscontractmake/become smallershrinkdraw insqueezechokestranglestrangulatearchaic:straitenOpposite expanddilate
   • ▪ become narrower: "he felt his throat constrict"
   • ▪ (of a snake) coil around (prey) in order to asphyxiate it: "boas constrict and suffocate their prey"
   • ▪ inhibit or restrict: "the fear and the reality of crime constrict many people's lives" Similar impederestrictinhibitobstructlimitinterfere withhinderhampercheckcurbOpposite assist

   Word Origin mid 18th century: from Latin constrict- ‘bound tightly together’, from the verb constringere (see constrain).

   Derivatives

   • 1. constrictive adjective

   Scrabble Points: 13

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