All 4 Uses of
constrained
in
Moby Dick
- But all we said, not a word could we drag out of him; I almost felt like pushing him over, so as to change his position, for it was almost intolerable, it seemed so painfully and unnaturally constrained; especially, as in all probability he had been sitting so for upwards of eight or ten hours, going too without his regular meals.†
Chpt 16-18constrained = restricted; or lacking spontaneity
- constrainings seize thee; I see!†
Chpt 34-36
- For with little external to constrain us, the innermost necessities in our being, these still drive us on.†
Chpt 34-36 *constrain = restrict
- The fetid closeness of the air, and a famishing diet, united perhaps to some fears of ultimate retribution, had constrained them to surrender at discretion.†
Chpt 52-54constrained = restricted; or lacking spontaneity
Definitions:
-
(1)
(constrained) restricted or inhibited
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely (and archaically), constrain can mean to force someone to do something.