variants
also straightjacket
as in confinement
a jacket that has long arms which can be tied together behind someone's back and that is used to control the movement (as of a violent prisoner or patient)
The magician struggled to free his arms from the straitjacket and escape from the tank of water he was submerged in.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of straitjacket
The undiluted isolationism of his campaign messaging could prove to be a straitjacket that paralyzes the Trump administration’s foreign policy at a critical time.
—
Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024
Trump should make clear that Washington will no longer allow the accord to impose a straitjacket on broader U.S. policy in the Middle East.
—Tzvi Kahn, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2017
Lagrange’s method, despite seeming like a mere mathematical convenience at the time, loosened the straitjacket of Newton’s mechanistic view of the universe as a sequence of falling dominos.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024
Many have plausibly claimed that his insistence on fitting a diverse society into the straitjacket of modern secular nationalism led successive governments to respond brutally when citizens wanted to keep speaking Kurdish or wearing headscarves.
—Nick Danforth, Foreign Affairs, 6 Jan. 2015
See all Example Sentences for straitjacket 
Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024
Trump should make clear that Washington will no longer allow the accord to impose a straitjacket on broader U.S. policy in the Middle East.
—Tzvi Kahn, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2017
Lagrange’s method, despite seeming like a mere mathematical convenience at the time, loosened the straitjacket of Newton’s mechanistic view of the universe as a sequence of falling dominos.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024
Many have plausibly claimed that his insistence on fitting a diverse society into the straitjacket of modern secular nationalism led successive governments to respond brutally when citizens wanted to keep speaking Kurdish or wearing headscarves.
—Nick Danforth, Foreign Affairs, 6 Jan. 2015
See all Example Sentences for straitjacket
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straitjacket
Noun
-
Other times, the artwork responded directly to the men’s day-to-day conditions of confinement.—
Alexandra Moore,
The Conversation,
30 Jan. 2025
-
Emanuel Pugh, 26, was charged Tuesday with strangulation, two counts of domestic battery resulting in bodily injury to a pregnant woman, two counts of criminal confinement, and one count of domestic battery.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Los Angeles only has a volunteer, part-time and mostly teenage hand crew, who use axes, shovels and chain saws to stop wildfires spreading, according to the Post.—
Chris Boyette,
CNN,
21 Jan. 2025
-
State of play: Peter Morton sold his interest in the cafe chain in 1996.—
Carrie Shepherd,
Axios,
21 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Different plants, like nasturtiums, act as effective trap crops by being the more desirable plant for common garden pests — leaving the trap plant to be treated or removed over the one producing food.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
24 Jan. 2025
-
The rabbit was caught hopping around on camera traps, seemingly unaware that it was lost at all.—
John Yoo and John Shu,
Newsweek,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Here's how to treat ring around the cuff as well as ring around the collar.—
Jolie Kerr,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Jan. 2025
-
Leaving the studio, Palmer changed into another brightly colored outfit: a seafoam green tweed suit with a furry collar and a white Chloé bag with the name emblazoned in gold hardware.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
15 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Straitjacket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straitjacket. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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