from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
transitive verb To cause to contract; constrict.
from The Century Dictionary.
To cause constriction in; constrict or cause to contract or pucker; astringe.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
transitive verb rare To dawn together; to contract; to force to contract itself; to constrict; to cause to shrink.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
verb to constrict, to tighten
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
verb become tight or as if tight
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Latin cōnstringere, to compress; see constrain.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Latin constringere. See constrain.
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Examples
De puellae voluntate periculum facere solis oculis non est satis, sed efficacius aliquid agere oportet, ibique etiam machinam alteram ahibere: itaque manus tange, digitos constringe, atque inter stringendum suspira; si haec agentem aequo se animo feret, neque facta hujusmodi aspernabitur, tum vero dominam appella, ejusque collum suaviare.
But the true effect of every one of its fibres is to constringe the heart at the same time they render it tense; and this rather with the effect of thickening and amplifying the walls and substance of the organ than enlarging its ventricles.
Camillus returns with ointment, (p. 119) and they proceed to some horseplay which Joannes resists (Compesce eius impetus et ut equum intractatum ipsum illum constringe).
But the true effect of every one of its fibres is to constringe the heart at the same time they render it tense; and this rather with the effect of thickening and amplifying the walls and substance of the organ than enlarging its ventricles.
The unripe fruit and the bark are extremely astringent, being useful in decoction, or infusion, to check diarrhoea; and externally in poultices or lotions, to constringe such relaxed parts as the throat, and lower bowel.
Hence we see why it very seldom thunders when the northerly winds blow; for these winds constringe the earth with their cold, and so hinder the fulminating matter from bursting forth; and when they are burst forth and floating in the air, they hinder their effervency.
But the true effect of every one of its fibres is to constringe the heart at the same time they render it tense; and this rather with the effect of thickening and amplifying the walls and substance of the organ than enlarging its ventricles.
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