From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconstrictcon‧strict /kənˈstrɪkt/ verb 1 NARROW[intransitive, transitive] to make something narrower or tighter, or to become narrower or tighter Caffeine constricts the blood vessels in your body. Linda’s throat constricted and she started to cry.2 LIMIT[transitive] to limit someone’s freedom to do what they want SYN restrict Fear of crime constricts many people’s lives. —constricted adjective —constriction /-ˈstrɪkʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
constrict• The management options for the immediate future have been considerably constricted by recent developments.• The process is constricted by three factors -- population, minority distribution and simple geography.• Women's clothing was, of course, constricting, doubtless an aspect of this fashion to control the body.• He can have anything, but chooses to constrict his life.• He pushed into the dry toothless mouth that constricted like the elastic cuff of a pajama sleeve.• Much heat in the head with all the headaches; bursting, constricting pains.• The law constricts people's choices about how to educate their children.• I wanted to help him, but I felt constricted, struggling against the limitations of understanding and language.• But the drive to constrict the activities of minority religions is unlikely to have the desired result.• Avoid clothing that constricts the blood circulation in your legs.Origin constrict (1700-1800) Latin past participle of constringere; → CONSTRAIN 