Constrict: meaning, example and synonyms
Constrictv. To squeeze or narrow something, limiting how freely it can move or grow.
Example
As arteries constrict in cold weather, the heart must work harder to push blood through the narrowed vessels.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Synonyms
- tighten, narrow, squeeze, compress
- Antonyms
- expand, dilate, widen, loosen
- Memory tip
- A boa constrictor squeezes its coils tighter and tighter.
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Check yourself: Constrict in context
As the pupils ______ in bright light, less light enters the eye, protecting the sensitive retina from damage.
Answer: constrict. Pupils narrow in bright light, so they constrict, letting in less light. Glean, emulate and brood can't describe an opening getting smaller.
The narrow canyon walls ______ the river, forcing its water into a fast, churning channel only a few meters wide.
Answer: constricted. Walls that squeeze a river into a narrow channel constrict it. Emulated, gleaned and brooded don't mean to narrow or squeeze.