Adjacent Words

straitjacket definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines; "they defected because Russian dance was in a straitjacket"; "the government is operating in an economic straitjacket"
2: a garment similar to a jacket that is used to bind the arms tightly against the body as a means of restraining a violent person [syn: straitjacket, straightjacket]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun also straightjacket Date: 1814 1. a cover or overgarment of strong material (as canvas) used to bind the body and especially the arms closely in restraining a violent prisoner or patient 2. something that restricts or confines like a straitjacket II. transitive verb also straightjacket Date: 1863 to confine in or as if in a straitjacket

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(straitjackets) 1. A straitjacket is a special jacket used to tie the arms of a violent person tightly around their body. N-COUNT 2. If you describe an idea or a situation as a straitjacket, you mean that it is very limited and restricting. The national curriculum must be a guide, not a straitjacket. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Oregon boat, anchor, bilbo, bind, bond, bonds, bridle, camisole, chain, chains, collar, cuffs, enchain, entrammel, fasten, fetter, gag, gyve, gyves, halter, hamper, handcuff, handcuffs, hobble, hobbles, hog-tie, hopple, hopples, irons, lash, leading strings, leash, make fast, manacle, moor, muzzle, peg down, picket, pillory, pin down, pinion, put in irons, reins, restrain, restraint, restraints, rope, secure, shackle, stocks, straightjacket, strait-waistcoat, stranglehold, strap, tether, tie, tie down, tie up, trammel, trammels, yoke