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Beyond the limits of concealment, confinement, privacy, constraint, etc., actual of figurative; hence, not in concealment, constraint, etc., in, or into, a state of freedom, openness, disclosure, publicity, etc.; as, the sun shines out; he laughed out, to be out at the elbows; the secret has leaked out, or is out; the…

n a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion.

To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon or over; to constrain; to force; to compel. Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. Acts xviii. 5.

To incite; to entice; to urge; to constrain; to oblige. These wretches put us upon all mischief. Swift. Put me not use the carnal weapon in my own defense. Sir W. Scott. Thank him who puts me, loath, to this revenge. Milton.

A constrained, self-conscious smile; an affected, silly smile; a smirk. The conscious simper, and the jealous leer. Pope.

Artless in manner; unaffected; unconstrained; natural; inartificial;; straightforward. In simple manners all the secret lies. Young.

e of being spontaneous, or acting from native feeling, proneness, or temperament, without constraint or external force. Romney Leigh, who lives by diagrams, And crosses not the spontaneities Of all his individual, personal life With formal universals. Mrs. Browning.

ent, or disposition, or from a native internal proneness, readiness, or tendency, without constraint; as, a spontaneous gift or proportion.

other material, worn by women, and rarely by men. How the strait stays the slender waist constrain. Gay.

Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style. The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved. Addison.

To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth Is forced and strained. Denham. The quality of mercy is not strained. Shak.

Restricted; stiff; constrained. [R.] Fuller.

thing distrained. Stress of voice, unusual exertion of the voice. -- Stress of weather, constraint imposed by continued bad weather; as, to be driven back to port by stress of weather. -- To lay stress upon, to attach great importance to; to emphasize. "Consider how great a stress is laid upon this duty." Atterbury.…

ek by request; to make application; to petition; to entreat; to plead. By adverse destiny constrained to sue For counsel and redress, he sues to you. Pope. Cæsar came to Rome to sue for the double honor of a triumph and the consulship. C. Middleton. The Indians were defeated and sued for peace. Jefferson.…

Indicating suspicion, mistrust, or fear. We have a suspicious, fearful, constrained countenance. Swift.

To hold or constrain by authority or moral influence, as by knotted cords; to oblige; to constrain; to restrain; to confine. Not tied to rules of policy, you find Revenge less sweet than a forgiving mind. Dryden.

; an undue rigor in the execution of law. Undue influence (Law), any improper or wrongful constraint, machination, or urgency of persuasion, by which one's will is overcome and he is induced to do or forbear an act which he would not do, or would do, if left to act freely. Abbott.

Not easy in manner; constrained; stiff; awkward; not graceful; as, an uneasy deportment.

Unconstrained by the interference of another; unimpelled by the influence of another; not prompted or persuaded by another; done of his or its own accord; spontaneous; acting of one's self, or of itself; free. Our voluntary service he requires. Milton. She fell to lust a voluntary prey. Pope.