Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use constrict in a sentence

20 example sentences · verb

Constrict means to narrow, especially by application of pressure. Example: “Clothing that is too tight can constrict blood flow.”

Examples of constrict by meaning

verbTo narrow, especially by application of pressure.

  • constrict the airway
  • constrict blood vessels
  • Clothing that is too tight can constrict blood flow.

verbTo coil around (prey) in order to asphyxiate it. (of a snake).

  • The snake began to constrict its prey.

More sentences with constrict

  • So far as I’m concerned, because they’re largely unhelpful, pointlessly constricting, feckless, and useless.2019, Benjamin Dreyer, Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, Random House, →ISBN, pages 7–8. From the entry nonrule
  • It progresses then because existing metaphysical doctrines are felt to be constricting frameworks, and thus unsatisfactory.2012, Joseph Agassi, Science in Flux. From the entry doctrine
  • Some tokens were highly constricted and others were more weakly rhotic.2012, Jennifer Hay, Alhana Clendon, “(Non)-Rhoticity: Lessons from New Zealand English”, in Terttu Nevalainen, Elizabeth Closs Traugott…. From the entry rhotic
  • Her heart constricted when she saw thick blood oozing from a wide gash in his forehead.2011, Karen Mahoney, The Iron Witch, Flux, →ISBN, page 278. From the entry ooze
  • Web solvent is used to disintegrate the sticky, constricting mass fired by webbers.2001, Gavin Thorpe, Inquisitor, page 91. From the entry webber
  • It causes a range of symptoms, from respiratory failure, eye irritation, and blurred vision to constricted pupils and drooling.2013 August 1, Ian Sample, “UN team heads to Syria to inspect sites of alleged chemical weapon attacks”, in The Guardian. From the entry foam at the mouth
  • A marilith can also constrict with her deadly tail.1993, Doug Stewart, Gary Gygax, Monstrous Manual, page 338. From the entry marilith
  • I could live with real people and enjoy real friendships, not the cautious, constricted conversations of winks and nods among fellow doublethinkers.2021 December 2, Rod Dreher, “Natan Sharansky: The Power Of Truth”, in The American Conservative. From the entry doublethinker
  • Muse willed the change, swallowing and carefully constricting the epiglottis in a series of timed bio-codes that had taken her a long time to master.2011, Gabriel S. de Anda, Scissors, Rock and Paper Doll, →ISBN. From the entry bio-code
  • When the tom is alert, the snood constricts and projects vertically as a fleshy bump at the top rear of the beak.2000, Gary Clancy, Turkey Hunting Tactics, page 8. From the entry snood
  • Many writers felt constricted painting below the windows of cars and began to expand their pieces upward into top-to-bottoms and lengthwise into end-to-ends.1984, Craig Castleman, Getting Up: Subway Graffiti in New York, page 57. From the entry top-to-bottom
  • The Dog wasn′t remotely interested in the raffle even though winning the occasional fruit and vegie basket or meat tray has helped our constricted budget at times.2012, June Loves, The Festival by the Sea, unnumbered page. From the entry meat tray
  • The procedure, called needle aponeurotomy or percutaneous fasciotomy, involves using the bevel of a hypodermic needle to essentially shred the ropes of constricting fascia characteristic of Dupuytren’s disease.2007 July 24, Kate Murphy, “Straightening Bent Fingers, No Surgery Required”, in New York Times. From the entry fasciotomy
  • Some vowels in English are made with roughly the same tongue position as the tense vowels, but with less constricted articulation; they are called lax vowels.2001, Michael Dobrovolsky, “Phonetics: The Sounds of Language”, in William O'Grady, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff, Janie Rees-Miller…. From the entry lax vowel
  • His own education was ordinary, his breeding provincially constricted: but he had (with singular personal formosity) an extraordinary faculty of appreciation and an inchanting sense of obligation.1993, Frederick Rolfe, chapter XIX, in The Desire & Pursuit of the Whole, Quartet Books, page 200. From the entry formosity
  • Still looking lost and confused, Clive scratched his butt-chin, looked me in the eye with both pupils constricted, and full of uncertainty, he stammered as he fired yet another question.2011, C. Lazarus, Father on the Loose!. From the entry butt chin

Meaning of constrict

  1. verb To narrow, especially by application of pressure.
  2. verb To coil around (prey) in order to asphyxiate it. (of a snake).
  3. verb To limit or restrict.

Full definition of constrict

Questions about constrict in a sentence

How do you use constrict in a sentence?
Constrict is used as a verb. For example: “Clothing that is too tight can constrict blood flow.”
What is a short sentence with constrict?
“constrict blood vessels”
What does constrict mean?
Constrict means to narrow, especially by application of pressure.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: constrict (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use constrict in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/constrict. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.