Both Uses of
constrained
in
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- Crossing the Black area of Stamps which in childhood's narrow measure seemed a whole world, we were obliged by custom to stop and speak to every person we met, and Bailey felt constrained to spend a few minutes playing with each friend.†
p. 25.1 *constrained = restricted; or lacking spontaneity
- Constrained by hard-learned manners I couldn't look behind me, but to my left and right the proud graduating class of 1940 had dropped their heads.†
p. 179.9
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.