straitjacket
7
7.5
- noun
- /ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt/
- So it is not always them, but the system that applies a straitjacket to their responses and actions.
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Watch on YouTubeYou spend the whole time having to to get out of the straitjacket of that term.
- You spend the whole time having to to get out of the straitjacket of that term.
Examples
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Thus, as always happens, foreign policy finds itself dependent upon and limited by a straitjacket made up of economic variables.
Academic text (1991) -
It could broaden the horizons of our own minds, freeing them from the straitjacket of our own convictions and the blind spots in our perception.
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You spend the whole time having to to get out of the straitjacket of that term.
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Sometimes married people get into an emotional straitjacket, and it's kind of hard for them to express how they truly feel about each other.
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Federal judges have openly complained that the guidelines put them in a virtual straitjacket.
Academic text (2007) -
If schools are serious about improving education, they must break loose from the straitjacket imposed by many current scheduling practices.
Academic text (1991) -
For others, the "strict structure feels like a straitjacket," charting a path too narrow and confining.
Academic text (2005) -
As a general rule, historical mythology has the effect of constraining the past in the straitjacket of a repetitive narration.
Academic text (2011) -
Many artists feel confined by the straitjacket of traditional styles that stifle their creativity.
-
His career was placed in a straitjacket by the strict company policies that limited innovation.
Synonyms
340
3.0
A rule or action that limits what you can do
199
5.6
Something that limits a person's freedom or progress
44
3.9
A rule or measure that limits what people can do
22
4.6
A thing that stops or controls movement to keep people and machines safe
17
8.0
A strong control that prevents others from changing things or acting freely
9
8.6
A system that keeps people under control and stops them being free
3
8.0
A strong control that stops people or groups from acting freely
2
7.0
Something that limits a person's actions or power
1
7.3
Limiting what people can do
Antonyms
How Restrictive
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
A helpful way to remember the figurative use of straitjacket is to think of strait as 'tight' and jacket as 'coat'. A 'tight coat' stops movement, so we call any rule or situation that severely limits freedom or progress a straitjacket.