straiten

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈstreɪtən/ UK /ˈstreɪtən/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to make narrow, or to restrict, especially financially

The war years straitened the family's once-comfortable means.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make narrow, or to... narrow restrict constrict limit confine impoverish constrain

Opposites

widen broaden ease loosen liberate

Word family

Derived forms straitened

Related forms strait

Etymology

From the adjective 'strait' (narrow, via Old French 'estreit', from Latin 'strictus', drawn tight, from 'stringere', to bind) plus the verb-forming suffix '-en'.

strictus Latin stringere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# straiten

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈstreɪtən
**IPA (UK):** ˈstreɪtən

## Meanings
1. to make narrow, or to restrict, especially financially

## Examples
- The war years straitened the family's once-comfortable means.

## Synonyms
- narrow
- restrict
- constrict
- limit
- confine
- impoverish
- constrain

## Antonyms
- widen
- broaden
- ease
- loosen
- liberate

## Derived Forms
- straitened

## Related Forms
- strait

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: strictus
- Root: stringere

## Etymology
From the adjective 'strait' (narrow, via Old French 'estreit', from Latin 'strictus', drawn tight, from 'stringere', to bind) plus the verb-forming suffix '-en'.

## AI Etymology
Straiten is from the adjective 'strait' (narrow, via Old French 'estreit', from Latin 'strictus', drawn tight, from 'stringere', to bind) plus the verb-forming suffix '-en'. Important recorded forms include strictus (Latin) and stringere (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers to make narrow, or to restrict, especially financially. The wider family includes derived forms such as straitened and related words such as strait.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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straiten

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